Ursula von der Leyen lashed out at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, in an unprecedented attack by a European Commission president on a national leader.
In a speech at the European parliament on Wednesday, von der Leyen listed multiple grievances Brussels had with Orbán, the self-styled “illiberal” premier who consistently obstructs EU aid for Kyiv and seeks to weaken the bloc’s sanctions against Russia.
“There are still some who blame this war not on the invader but on the invaded. Not on Putin’s lust for power but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom,” she said, comparing Ukrainians to the Hungarians who tried to resist a Soviet invasion in 1956.