PM Orbán must have ‘run into’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the meeting, as some Hungarian media put it. However, conspicuously, Viktor Orbán did not post any photos of him and the Ukrainian leader to social media, as opposed to prominently featured pictures with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki in a Facebook post. In fact, no formal meeting has been held between the two leaders since Zelenskyy entered office. Although Orbán has been invited to Kyiv, the Hungarian government has made it quite clear that the Hungarian PM will not be travelling to Ukraine unless the rights of the Hungarian minority in the country are restored.

Ukraine has proven to be quite willing to turn a blind eye to the transgressions of China for very pragmatic reasons. It seems practical stances in foreign policy are allowed after all, until some powerful figures in politics and media choose to stir up some selective outrage.

During the European Council summit on Thursday, EU leaders welcomed the Ukrainian president to Brussels, showing support for the West’s ally as Ukraine gets ready for an anticipated Russian offensive.

The Hungarian Prime Minister was put under scrutiny for not applauding the Ukrainian President—however, he was not the only one, as some Western journalists and politicians have claimed.

‘Despite their injuries, the Hungarian soldiers have shown brave commitment, and many of those who were able to do so have already returned to their posts,’ the Hungarian defence minister said after the clashes between KFOR troops and local Serbs in North Kosovo. The minister stressed that the stability of the Western Balkans is very important to Hungary, which is why it is present in the region not only diplomatically and economically, but also militarily in the framework of the KFOR mission.

About a week after the Committee on Budgetary Control officially rejected her renomination, the European Parliament reversed that decision and voted in favour of another six-year term for Gáll-Pelcz on the European Court of Auditors. However, on the same day, the EP also passed a resolution condemning Hungary.

The Hungarian government has vetoed the 11th EU sanctions package against Russia after it was revealed that Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly urged the bombing of the Druzhba pipeline, a crucial route via which Russian oil is transferred to Hungary.

The European Peace Facility was posed to transfer €500 million to Ukraine for artillery round purchases, but the aid was blocked by the Hungarian government. The official explanation for the move is that Budapest would like to see the off-budget EU fund focus on more than just Ukraine, but some believe the blacklisting of OTP Bank may be behind it.

While talking to reporters on his flight from Budapest to Vatican City, Pope Francis revealed that the Vatican is engaged in a ‘peace mission’, which he has discussed with Prime Minister Orbán and Bishop Hilarion in Budapest. The Kyiv government has made it clear that it does not approve of such an effort.

Four Central European countries, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, have announced bans on foodstuff imports coming from Ukraine. Meanwhile, Romania has joined them in demanding action from the EU to address these concerns. The five countries are estimated to have lost 417 million EUR combined due to cheap Ukrainian food imports.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine to meet with President Zelenskyy, where he expressed his strong support for Ukraine’s accession to the military alliance. Viktor Orbán, who has been a vocal proponent of peace negotiations and is fully aware that such remarks are seen as a provocative move by Russia, took to Twitter to voice his strong dissent.

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán emphasised that Budapest and Warsaw will join forces to protect the agricultural workers of Central Europe from the negative effects of ‘grain dumps’ coming from Ukraine.

The Prime Minister said that the rebuilding of Russian-European economic relations after the war would be desirable, but it is unlikely to happen any time soon.

Romania has joined Budapest in criticising some of Kyiv’s policies. Bucharest has raised ecological concerns over Ukraine’s plan to continue to dredge the Danube Delta to increase its volume of trade through the Bystroye Canal.

Worries grow about Moldova’s stability as the second wave of pro-Russian protests erupted in Chișinău and Wizz Air temporarily suspended its flights due to repeated violations of Moldova’s airspace by Russian missiles.

Trans-Dniester in Moldova is considered to be Russia’s next target for invasion by the intelligence communities of multiple countries. Meanwhile, there has been social unrest is the capital city of Chisinau, also suspected to be connected to the Kremlin.

‘We did not set the speech up some kind of head-to-head. This is not a rhetorical contest with anyone else,’ underlined US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, stating that Biden’s speech was not planned as a direct rebuttal to Putin.

Anti-government protests, prompted by the soaring energy prices in Moldova, ended in chants of ´we want to be part of Russia!´.

Shortly after the uncovered plot to destabilise Moldova, Russian missiles violated the country’s airspace.

Ambassadors Varga-Haszonits and Fałkowski were the only diplomats to be present at the Tehran event with President Raisi. Despite that, other European nations also refrain from fully committing to cutting ties with the Middle Eastern nation.

It is difficult not to interpret the visit of Samantha Power, the current head of USAID, to Budapest last Thursday and Friday as an American telling-off.

Moldova, the small Eastern European country that has been divided ever since it declared its independence from the USSR in 1991, has now criminalised separatism.

Naftali Bennett made shocking claims about his derailed mediation efforts in the Ukraine conflict in a five-hour interview, uploaded to his own YouTube channel.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal recently stated that the country would like to join the EU in a two-year timetable. However, most member states think that this timeline for Kyiv’s bid is unrealistic.

The actor known for many as Luke Skywalker has been an adamant supporter of Ukraine’s war efforts since the conflict began. Earlier this week Hamill announced that he would soon be selling signed Star Wars posters to help finance the Ukrainian army’s drone supply.

There should be no doubt: images of German tanks making their way across Ukrainian mud to kill Russians would increase the popularity and legitimacy of President Putin’s war.

From Czechia to Ukraine, voters in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe will be going to the polls in 2023.

The Czechs and the Slovaks are growing increasingly dissatisfied with Europe’s sanctions policy that makes families bear the cost of the war.

At an event hosted by Hungarian Conservative, foreign policy expert and journalist Anton Bendarzsevszkij spoke about some less discussed aspects of the protracted conflict in Ukraine.

After Brussels’ deception, Warsaw seems to be siding with Budapest again, and also seeking to revitalise the regional V4 cooperation.