Orban calls Ukraine "financially non-existent country.” Ukraine responds

He made the statements in an interview with Radio Kossuth, Infostart reports.

Orban called the US an ally, listing similarities between the countries.

"We have all the prerequisites to ensure that we have good and friendly relations," the politician said.

At the same time, he emphasized that relations between the US and Hungary must withstand the difference in views during the war. According to him, the US wants to "squeeze every country into a military alliance."

He said that if Europe answered "no" to the question of whether it wanted to save Ukraine, the conflict in the region would be over.

"We pay Ukrainians pensions, salaries, healthcare. It is clear that this cannot continue indefinitely," Orban said.

He also expressed concern that the war in Ukraine would escalate into a nuclear war.

"If there is a world war, there will be a nuclear war, and God save us from it. The course of events is going in this direction," the Hungarian politician said.

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev praised Orban for these words and reiterated that "no one needs Ukraine."

"Well done, bold and accurate for a European politician. I can only add that as soon as Western funding ends, Ukraine itself will end," he wrote on Telegram.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also responded to Orban's statement, noting that aid to Kyiv is not charity.

"Another anti-Ukrainian statement. We are not at all surprised that it received an instant favorable reaction in Moscow. It is cynical that the Hungarian leadership speaks about the financial issues of other countries at a time when Hungary itself receives considerable money from the European Union to maintain its economic stability. We urge Viktor Orban to face the truth: supporting Ukraine is not charity. By supporting Ukraine, Europe invests primarily in its own security," Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook.

"Instead, the Hungarian authorities should be grateful that amid unprecedented Russian aggression, Ukrainians are keeping the peaceful sky over Budapest and other European cities at the cost of their lives," he added.