Hungary has blocked military aid to Ukraine worth 500 million euros. First, Budapest demanded that the Hungarian OTP Bank be removed from the list of terrorist sponsors. And after Ukraine fulfilled this demand, Hungary demanded "legal guarantees that this is permanent."

Despite being a member of NATO and the European Union, Hungary refused to provide military assistance to Ukraine. This was the choice of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and it is part of a disturbing pattern that is taking him out of the Western mainstream and into the sticky embrace of Vladimir Putin, Time writes.

Earlier, as noted by the AP, Orban compared Hungary's membership in the European Union to more than four decades of Soviet occupation of his country during a speech on Monday marking the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian anti-Soviet revolution. Speaking to a group of guests in the city of Veszprém, Orbán accused the EU of seeking to deprive Hungary of its identity by imposing a model of liberal democracy that as he said Hungarians reject.

"Today, things are surfacing that remind us of the Soviet era. Yes, it happens that history is repeating itself," Orban said at the event, which was not attended by any media except for Hungary's state broadcaster. "Fortunately, what was once a tragedy has now turned into a comedy at best. Fortunately, Brussels is not Moscow. Moscow was a tragedy. Brussels is just a bad modern parody."

Orban, an advocate of an alternative form of populist government that he calls "illiberal democracy," has long used the holiday to rally his supporters. In recent years, he has used the occasion to draw parallels between the EU's attempts to force Hungary to comply with its rules on corruption and democracy and the repression the country faced during the Soviet occupation in the 20th century.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, earlier Orban reiterated that Ukraine would not be able to win the war. He believes that the army of the Russian occupiers has all the advantages to achieve their goal.

Orban also said that Ukraine's international partners should abandon their beliefs about restoring its territorial integrity and joining NATO. In addition, he suggested that the West should make a deal with Putin without returning Crimea to Ukraine.

Only verified information on our Telegram OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!