After meeting with Donald Trump in Florida, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán decided on March 10 to detail what he said were the former US president’s plan to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.
Just as Russian experts and pundits had long suspected, the plan is merely an intention to terminate US aid to Ukraine, in hopes that the conflict between the empowered invader and his intended victim would eventually fizzle out.
Orbán said: “[Trump] will not give a penny in the Ukraine-Russia war. That is why the war will end.” He added, “If the Americans don’t give money and weapons, along with the Europeans, then the war is over. And if the Americans don’t give money, the Europeans alone are unable to finance this war. And then the war is over.”
The Hungarian leader, still bristling from being brushed aside at the February 1 European Union (EU) summit that agreed to provide $54bn in Ukraine aid, suggested Trump’s actions would bring a truce. Leaving Ukraine without Western aid would eventually force it to capitulate. While the further dismemberment of Ukraine was not mentioned, the Kremlin has made clear it has greater ambitions beyond the lands it already seized.
The horrors of Russia’s occupation and the avowedly genocidal intent of its state-funded mouthpieces towards Ukrainians got no mention at all.
It is highly unusual for a visiting foreign head of government to meet with a former president, and to completely bypass the US administration.
Even Trump’s Russian admirers found the arrangement quite brazen. During the evening broadcast of a state TV show 60 Minutes on March 11, State Duma member Leonid Kalashnikov marveled at Trump’s devil-may-care attitude.
Describing Trump as “unhinged,” the Russian lawmaker said that the former US president is “behaving as a Russian,” citing Orbán’s recent visit as an example.
Kalashnikov stated: “I am a fan of Trump, based on the interests of my country.” He expressed gratitude for the four-year reprieve he said Trump’s presidency provided for Russia, allowing the country to prepare for its expanded invasion of Ukraine. This is not unusual — lawmakers and foreign policy experts frequently gush about their affinity for Trump as “the destroyer of America.”
During the morning broadcast of 60 Minutes on March 11, host Olga Skabeeva smirked and gloated about Orbán divulging Trump’s “secret plan.”
Set to a jolly tune, the report remarked that Make America Great Again (MAGA) Republicans in the US Congress are already helping Trump in his plan, blocking American aid to the fledgling democracy.
Skabeeva said: “If Trump wins the election, he won’t give a penny to Ukraine.” She cited Orbán’s words that after America ends aid to Ukraine, Europeans would follow suit and the conflict will resolve itself. Skabeeva noted: “This scheme suits us well.”
After mentioning Trump’s alleged intent to restructure any potential aid to Ukraine as a debt that would have to be repaid, Skabeeva flashed a lopsided grin and let out an uncontrolled giggle. Even the former president’s cheerleaders in Moscow suspect that this is not a serious suggestion, but merely a fig leaf to conceal his indifference to Ukraine’s future and a delaying tactic towards a country at war, where delays translate into more death and suffering.
Recent overtures about negotiations by Pope Francis have garnered nothing but scorn from Russia’s most prominent propagandist, state TV host Vladimir Solovyov (despite the Pope’s suggestion that Ukraine “show the courage of the white flag.”)
He was more inclined to fawn over Orbán’s assurances that Trump simply plans to abandon Ukraine, allowing it to be erased by the Kremlin. Readying for an authoritarian new world where the democratic norms are obsolete, Solovyov suggested that Russia abandon language suggesting it’s a democracy, or even stop using the related terms.
During the March 11 broadcast of The Evening With Vladimir Solovyov, political scientist Sergey Mikheyev hypothesized that during Trump’s potential second term, Orbán might become an official intermediary between Trump and Putin. Mikheyev said that Hungary would thereby gain an invaluable position of global influence.
Surmising that Trump’s return to the White House would mean the inevitable fall of Ukraine, Solovyov added that Hungary would also expand its borders by being gifted the Ukrainian Carpathians — courtesy of both Trump and Putin.
Pundits in the studio laughed out loud, but Solovyov shook his head and emphasized, “I am not joking whatsoever.”
Julia Davis is a columnist for The Daily Beast and the creator of the Russian Media Monitor. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Screen Actors Guild, and Women In Film.
Europe’s Edge is CEPA’s online journal covering critical topics on the foreign policy docket across Europe and North America. All opinions expressed on Europe’s Edge are those of the author alone and may not represent those of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis. CEPA maintains a strict intellectual independence policy across all its projects and publications.
War Without End
Russia’s Shadow Warfare
CEPA Forum 2025
Explore CEPA’s flagship event.
