Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday said Russia’s threat of more strikes with new weapons should be taken seriously, warning “there will be consequences”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said the conflict in Ukraine had characteristics of a “global” war and did not rule out strikes on Western countries, just after Russia struck Ukraine with a missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Orban, the Kremlin’s closest ally in the European Union, warned that Russia “bases its policy and its place in the world on military force” and cherishes its status as “one of the most powerful militaries in the world, with some of the most modern and destructive weapons”.
“When they say something in this matter, it should be taken at face value,” the nationalist premier said in his weekly interview on public radio.
Russia recently lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons, a move that the United States condemned as “irresponsible” rhetoric.
But Orban argued that the change in Moscow’s atomic doctrine was not just posturing.
“So I just want to say that when the Russians modify the rules for the use of their nuclear force… it is not a communication ploy, it is not a trick, it has been modified and there will be consequences,” the Hungarian leader added.
Orban has repeatedly called for peace talks and has refused to send military aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022.
He drew criticism in July by conducting breakaway diplomacy with Russia to explore a path to ending the war in Ukraine, just days after taking over the EU’s rotating six-month presidency.
