Orbán accuses Tusk of “playing dangerous game” with claims Ukraine conflict is “our war”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has hit out at his Polish counterpart, Donald Tusk, for declaring that the conflict in Ukraine is “our war”. Orbán accused Tusk of “playing a dangerous game”.

The Polish prime minister’s remarks came during a speech this week at the Warsaw Security Forum, a major summit in the Polish capital that was also attended virtually by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“This is our war,” said Tusk, referring to the conflict over Poland’s eastern borders. “Not only because of solidarity with those who are under attack, but because of our fundamental interests.”

“Because the war in Ukraine is only part of this ghastly project, the goal of which is always the same – to enslave nations, to deprive individuals of freedom, to make authoritarianism, despotism, cruelty, and lack of human rights triumph,” he added.

“If we lose this war, then the consequences will affect not only our generation but also the next generations in Poland, all of Europe, in the United States, everywhere in the world. Let us have no illusions about this,” warned Tusk.

Orbán, whose country is a fellow member of NATO and the European Union, however, took to social media to disagree with the Polish prime minister’s comments.

“Dear Donald Tusk, you may think that you are at war with Russia, but Hungary is not. Neither is the European Union. You are playing a dangerous game with the lives and security of millions of Europeans. This is very bad!” wrote Orbán.

Hungary, which continues to enjoy friendly relations with Moscow and tense ones with Kyiv, and Poland, which is ardently anti-Russian and a close ally of Ukraine, have repeatedly clashed over the war.

Last year, after Orbán accused Poland of “hypocrisy” for “morally lecturing” Hungary over relations with Moscow while continuing to buy Russian oil, a Polish deputy foreign minister suggested that Hungary leave NATO and the EU and instead “create a union with Putin and authoritarian states”.

Warsaw last year also expressed frustration with Hungary for blocking the payment of EU funds earmarked to compensate member states, including Poland, for military aid they have provided to Ukraine.