Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed that Russia has won the war in Ukraine, just days before US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Orban's remarks on August 12 come ahead of Friday's summit between the American and Russian leaders, and highlights his government’s close ties with Moscow. The right-wing leader, in power since 2010, has repeatedly opposed military aid for Ukraine, drawing criticism from other European leaders.
In January 2014, conflict broke out in eastern Ukraine following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. After greater cooperation with the United States and NATO member states, intelligence was gathered showing that Russia was preparing an escalation amounting to a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In February 2022, the largest deployment of Russian troops moved toward the borderlands. Despite the evidence, Ukrainian officials played down the possibility of an “unprovoked” attack. But the war did, in fact, begin just a few weeks later.
Want to learn more shocking facts and figures about the Russia-Ukraine war? Click through this gallery.