Zelenskyy Warns Disinformation from Orban Threatens U.S.-Ukraine Relations

On February 23, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned during, “Ukraine. Year 2025” forum in Kyiv, that members of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s team have been engaging with figures from U.S. President Donald Trump’s orbit, spreading disinformation about the origins of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“I know that there are people from this Hungarian leader who have contact with people in President Trump’s orbit, and are constantly raising questions… in regards to not expanding NATO into eastern Europe,” Zelenskyy stated. He criticized these narratives, which echo Kremlin-backed claims that NATO was responsible for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also pushed back against the notion that NATO's expansion was a provocation to Russia. “Is it not a risk that all the countries that became NATO members after various agreements between the (former) Soviet Union and the U.S. that they could all be under attack or occupation by the Russian army on their territory?”

Zelenskyy highlighted that NATO membership for former Soviet nations acts as a defense against Russian expansion, refuting claims that NATO's presence in Eastern Europe triggered the war.

Orban, who has long held close ties with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, has openly criticized European Union aid to Ukraine and blocked sanctions against Moscow.

In February 2024, Orban suggested that Ukraine should remain a neutral “buffer zone” between Russia and the West, advocating for security guarantees but no NATO or EU membership for Ukraine.

Sources within the Hungarian government later disclosed that Trump had reached out to Orban multiple times after winning the 2024 presidential election, seeking his advice on strategies to end the war in Ukraine.

Trump himself has previously stated that NATO's expansion was a significant concern for Russia. “I could understand their feelings,” Trump remarked, referencing Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he would not recognize any agreement that would leave Ukraine indebted to the United States for $500 billion.