Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s approach to the Russian-Ukraine war is not Russia-sympathetic, but Hungarian-pragmatic. He has made it clear that Hungary condemns the Russian invasion into Ukraine and stands for Ukrainian sovereignty, but not to the point that agreeing to energy sanctions would crush Hungary’s economy.

97 percent of Hungarians oppose sanctions that they believe would seriously harm the country, according to the results of the national consultation launched by the government last year.

As Western pundits and politicians are busy condemning Hungary for its national consultation about energy sanctions, they ignore the anger boiling up in their own countries.