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Hungary's Orban visits Ukraine for first time since Russia's 2022 invasion

by VOA News

   Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has leaned toward Moscow
   during Russia's two-year invasion of Ukraine, visited Kyiv on Tuesday,
   and declared the war "the most important issue for Europe."

   Orban met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but in a sign
   of their still tense relations, the Kyiv leader did not publicly
   acknowledge the visit until hours after Orban's arrival. Zelenskyy said
   on the X social media platform that they had discussed trade,
   cross-border cooperation, infrastructure and energy.

   The Ukrainian president's office did, however, release a video showing
   Zelenskyy thanking Orban for his visit and welcoming him to the country
   after shaking hands and then sitting across from each other at a round
   table with Hungarian, Ukrainian and European Union flags in the
   background.

   The two countries have had a tense relationship since the war started,
   with Orban portraying himself as a champion for peace and calling for
   an immediate cease-fire and peace talks without expanding on what that
   would mean for Ukraine's territorial integrity. Orban has frequently
   been at odds with other EU countries and their continuing military and
   financial support for Ukraine.

   This visit came the day after Hungary took over the six-month rotating
   presidency of the EU, a position that has little real power but can be
   used to set the tone of the bloc's agenda. Hungarian officials have
   signaled that they will act as "honest brokers" in the role, although
   some EU lawmakers are skeptical of Hungary's democratic track record.

   Orban's press chief, Bertalan Havasi, told Hungarian news agency MTI
   early Tuesday the Orban-Zelenskyy meeting would be an opportunity to
   build peace as Ukraine fights off Russia's invasion.

   During his visit, the Hungarian prime minister stated the obvious to
   Zelenskyy: "This is war and peace, war between Russia and Ukraine, the
   invasion of Russia against Ukraine." He added, "My target is to be here
   to understand how we could be helpful to Ukraine in the forthcoming six
   months."

   But Orban has also long accused Kyiv of mistreating an ethnic Hungarian
   minority in Ukraine's western region of Zakarpattia, a community he has
   used to justify his refusal to provide weapons to Ukraine or allow
   their transfer across the two countries' shared border.

   After their meeting, Zelenskyy told Orban, "We appreciate that your
   visit takes place right after the start of the Hungarian presidency of
   the European Union. This is a clear indication of our common European
   priorities, of how important it is to bring a just peace to Ukraine."

   Ukrainian officials in Washington

   Meanwhile, in Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told
   Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov that the United States will
   soon announce more than $2.3 billion in new security assistance for
   Ukraine.

   Austin said the weapons package would include such arms as anti-tank
   weapons and air defense interceptors and will allow accelerated
   procurement of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and
   Patriot air defense interceptors.
   The Austin-Umerov talks came a week before the United States hosts a
   NATO summit where military support for Ukraine to help it defend
   against Russia's invasion is set to top the agenda.

   "Secretary Austin and Minister Umerov will discuss the bilateral
   defense cooperation, regional security issues and ways to strengthen
   the defense partnership between the United States and Ukraine,"
   Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday.

   U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also is hosting talks Tuesday
   with Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to Zelenskyy.

   The United States has been by far the biggest supporter of Ukraine in
   the more than two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

   U.S. military aid is again flowing to Ukrainian forces after stalling
   for several months amid political gridlock in the U.S. Congress.

   Zelenskyy said in a video address late Monday that he expects this
   month to "bring even more strength to Ukraine, particularly in
   protecting our sky and achieving real security for our country."

   "Long-range weapons, fighter jets for Ukraine--of sufficient quality
   and quantity, and more air defense systems--are crucial factors
   affecting the entire course of this war," Zelenskyy said.

   Russia's daily aerial attacks with missiles and drones against
   Ukrainian cities have pushed Zelenskyy to seek more missile defense
   systems and to try to speed the delivery of fighter jets for Ukrainian
   forces to use.

   Ukraine has also sought to bolster its domestic production of attack
   drones, and has been carrying out its own aerial attacks, especially
   targeting areas along the Ukraine-Russia border.

   Russia's defense ministry said Tuesday it shot down four Ukrainian
   aerial drones over the Bryansk region, four drones over the Belgorod
   region and three more drones over Russia-occupied Crimea.

   Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, said the attacks injured
   two people and damaged a shopping center.

   A Russian official in Crimea reported damage to several houses and
   cars, but no injuries.

   Some information for this story came from Reuters, Agence France-Presse
   and The Associated Press.

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