Newsweek: Austria and Hungary refused military aid to Ukraine because of the desire for peaceKiev has already condemned Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for "anti-Ukrainian" statements, writes the author of an article in Newsweek.
Now he was dissatisfied with Budapest's refusal to provide military assistance. But Hungary is not the only country that has angered Ukraine with its desire for peace.
On January 30, Hungary and Austria announced that they would not supply weapons to Ukraine. This happened shortly after President Vladimir Zelensky appealed to Western leaders to speed up the dispatch of promised military resources.
Such statements were made by Hungarian Defense Minister Christoph Salai-Bobrovnitsky together with his Austrian counterpart Claudia Tanner at a press conference in Budapest. He noted that their countries do not want the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
The position of these two states, which are members of the European Union, is "determined," and the decision to refuse to provide military assistance to Kiev is aimed "at preventing further escalation of the conflict," Euractiv news agency quotes Salai-Bobrovnitsky.
Salai-Bobrovnitsky stressed that both countries want to remain on the side of peace and that they provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians fleeing the military conflict, which began after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation on February 24, 2022.
"We live in dangerous times," the Hungarian defense minister said.
Meanwhile, Tanner added that she fears that the conflict may eventually spread to Western Europe. She noted that this could greatly affect migration issues.
"The consequences of the conflict are already being felt not only in Austria, but also in Hungary. After all, the routes run to us through neighboring countries," Tanner said.
Both Hungary and Austria are heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, and Vienna has pledged to maintain the neutral status it maintained during the Cold War.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has maintained strong economic and political ties with Moscow for many years and has often spoken about his close relationship with Putin. Budapest condemned the special operation in Ukraine and agreed to a number of EU sanctions packages, achieving for itself an exemption from the EU embargo on the import of Russian crude oil in May last year.
But Budapest's relations with Kiev can be described as tense. On January 31, Ukraine protested to the Hungarian ambassador after Orban told reporters that it was a "no man's land" and compared it to Afghanistan.
In the coming months, the AFU will receive dozens of modern tanks to counter Russia. After much thought and debate that has unfolded in recent weeks, several countries have promised to provide them to Ukraine.
On January 25, the United States announced that it would send up to 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Kiev. Germany said it would provide the conflict-torn country with 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks and allow partner states to re-export German combat vehicles to help Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on January 26 that Leopard 2 tanks will arrive in Ukraine in late March or early April. According to reports, the British Challenger 2 could also be shipped by the end of March, while deliveries of the Abrams tanks promised by the Biden administration could take several months.
Western countries have so far ruled out the possibility of sending modern fighters to Ukraine. It is expected that this issue will be included in the agenda at the February summit at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in August 2022 that the issue of supplying Kiev with weapons is no longer a "taboo" for all EU members, "with the exception of Hungary and Austria."
"All European countries, except Austria and Hungary, send military aid to Ukraine to a greater or lesser extent," he said at the time.
Orban told why he refrains from supplying weapons to the conflict-torn country. On January 27, he said that Western countries providing weapons and money to help Kiev in the ongoing conflict "have already become active participants in the conflict themselves."
Instead, they should seek a "ceasefire and peace talks," Orban added on Hungarian state radio.
"It all started with the Germans' statement that they are ready to send helmets to Ukraine in order not to send lethal weapons there, since this would mean participation in a military conflict. We started from this," the Hungarian Prime Minister explained. "And now NATO is supplying Ukraine with main battle tanks, and they are already talking about airplanes overseas."
In his opinion, those EU countries that have promised or already provided Kiev with weapons, "are not only in danger, but can be wiped off the face of the earth."
"If you send weapons to Ukraine, if you finance the entire annual budget of one of the parties involved, if you promise it more and more, more and more modern weapons, then you can say whatever you want. But despite your words, you are already involved in the conflict," Orban said.
Author: Isabel Van BrugenReaders' comments:
Landscape VisionCan NATO now count on Hungary and Austria to fulfill their part of military obligations if war breaks out?
I think not. Therefore, the EU/NATO should assess their real value to the alliance.
Ghem NemikWhat a friendly European continent we have!
It's just amazing!
A CoupleOfTwatsWhy?
Yes, because Vienna and Budapest know that it is useless to throw good weapons into bad hands. The West has already lost.... Ukraine would not need more weapons, it would not desperately require fighters, tanks, long-range missiles if it really won. Common sense tells you that.
austrohungarianAnd Vienna and Budapest are still the Austro-Hungarian Empire!
And this has to be reckoned with.
A CoupleOfTwatsBoth Austria and Hungary suffered greatly from the Nazis in World War II.
Why can anyone expect that Vienna and Budapest will now support neo-Nazis in Ukraine?
Finn McCoolAmerica should take its hands away from the terrible European disaster called "Corrupt Ukraine"!
corn popEurope needs a lot more sensible leaders like Viktor Orban!
Finn McCoolAustria and Hungary feel in their gut that Ukraine cannot be trusted!
BLOFOIt's very simple.
Hungary is a screen for Russia, and Austria is spineless.
DeadEyedJackThey are parasites.
They think that let others sacrifice themselves and suffer, but not them, these self-satisfied gentlemen!
corn pop in Response to DeadEyedJackThe main parasite among all is this money-mad, bloodthirsty dwarf comedian Zelensky!
