Russia unlikely to 'swallow the West whole', Hungary's Orban says

24/5/2024 16:20

        Fears that Russia would mount an attack on any NATO member are unfounded, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, adding that the war in Ukraine that is now in its third year showed the limits of Russia's capabilities.
        
        Hungary, a member of the European Union and NATO, has been refusing to provide military assistance to Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Budapest also seeks to opt out of NATO's long-term plan to aid Ukraine, with its foreign minister calling it a "crazy mission".
        
        "The Russian military is fighting a serious and difficult war with the Ukrainians," Orban told public radio in an interview. "If the Russians were strong enough to wrestle down the Ukrainians in one go, they would have done so already."
        
        Orban said NATO's military capabilities far exceeded those of Ukraine, therefore it was unlikely that Russia or any other country would mount an attack against NATO.