BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungary’s most popular opposition figure called for the resignation of one of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s closest aides on Thursday over statements he made suggesting that Hungary wouldn’t have defended itself against a Russian invasion, unlike Ukraine.
The aide, Balázs Orbán, who isn’t related to the prime minister, said on his podcast on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had made an “irresponsible” decision by opting to militarily defend his country after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
He said that Hungary had learned from its anti-Soviet uprising in 1956 — which was eventually crushed by the Red Army, killing as many as 3,000 civilians and destroying much of the capital Budapest — that “precious Hungarian lives” must be treated with caution rather than “offering them up” for defense.
“Every country has the right to decide its own destiny for itself,” Balázs Orbán said. “But based on ’56, we wouldn’t have done what President Zelenskyy did two and a half years ago, because that was irresponsible.”
The leader of Hungary’s strongest opposition party, Péter Magyar, wrote in a post on social media that the statement “humiliated the memory of the thousands of Hungarian freedom fighters, hundreds of whom — unlike Balázs Orbán — were willing to sacrifice their lives for the freedom and independence of their country.”
Balázs Orbán is the political director of the nationalist prime minister and one of his closest advisers. He has been instrumental in devising much of Hungary’s foreign and domestic strategy, and pursued close relationships with certain segments of the U.S. Republican Party that are aligned with former President Donald Trump.
His government has taken an adversarial position toward neighboring Ukraine, and sought to block, delay or water down European Union efforts to provide financial and military support to Kyiv and to pass sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine.
Such efforts have led to accusations from many European leaders that Hungary is acting to divide the EU and advance Russian interests.
Hungary’s Cold War-era anti-Soviet uprising looms large in the country’s consciousness as a symbol of its heroic struggle for independence and self determination. Some Hungarians view their government’s close ties to Russia today as a betrayal of the 1956 revolution’s efforts to force Soviet soldiers out of the country.
On Thursday, Magyar called for Balázs Orbán’s resignation by Oct. 23, the 68th anniversary of the revolution.
“Such a man cannot hold public office alongside the Hungarian Prime Minister,” Magyar wrote.
In a video on Facebook later on Thursday, Orbán said that his words had been “twisted,” and blamed “pro-war propaganda” for seeking to involve Hungary in the war in Ukraine.
“The heroes of 1956 are national heroes. Their memory is sacred and inviolable, and the heroes of 1956 were right and did the right thing,” he said.
Hungary’s government has long advocated for an immediate cease-fire and peace talks for the war in Ukraine, but hasn’t outlined what that would mean for Ukraine’s territorial integrity or the future security of Europe and other NATO allies.
Viktor Orbán angered EU leaders in July when he made unannounced visits to Russia and China on what he described as a “peace mission.” His meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin was the first by an EU leader in more than two years.