BUDAPEST, May 31. /TASS/. Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia may force Moscow to take control of more Ukrainian land in order to ensure national security, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told the Kossuth radio station.

He believes that by allowing Ukraine to use their long-range weapons for strikes inside Russia, some NATO countries are escalating the conflict, risking a direct clash with Russia. NATO is “trying to put out the fire with a flamethrower,” the Hungarian head of government noted.

According to him, “the longer the Ukrainians continue firing projectiles, the farther the Russians will advance.” “That said, there is a risk – and we should be very aware of it – that if we support Ukraine’s attacks on Russia, we may bring the Russians to our doorstep,” Orban said.

He pointed out that Kiev’s NATO intentions precipitated Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. “I think this is where the key to resolving the situation lies,” Orban stressed. “It is absurd that NATO is dragging us into a world war instead of protecting us,” the premier added.

Europe prepares for war with Russia, Hungarian PM says

BUDAPEST, May 31. /TASS/. Europe has entered an intermediate stage of preparations for war with Russia as it is increasingly being drawn into the armed conflict in Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told Kossuth Radio.

According to him, every week he sees more and more signs that the EU and NATO are preparing for military action. The prime minister pointed out that “going to war does not happen in one step.” “There are three stages: discussion, preparation and destruction. Now we are finishing the discussion and we are in the preparation stage. We are inches away from destruction,” he said.

According to Orban, there have been at least two developments in the past week that indicate that Europe is becoming increasingly involved in the Ukraine conflict and is “approaching war.” First, according to him, “there were talks between France and Ukraine about allowing French military instructors to go to Ukraine” to train Ukrainian soldiers. “If the French go for this, it will be a new level” of involvement of EU and NATO countries in the conflict, the prime minister opined.

Second, he recalled, the possibility of using Western weapons to attack targets deep inside Russian territory is being discussed. “More and more people are saying that the weapons supplied by the West should be used not only for defense, but also for attack,” Orban said. “Without NATO, Ukraine would not be able to shell Russian territory, but it can, and thus we are taking another step in the process of involvement in the war,” the prime minister emphasized.

In his opinion, the escalation of the conflict is happening because Ukraine and the West still want to win in it. “Ukraine thinks it can defeat Russia, and Western countries feel safer than the frontline countries of Central and Eastern Europe,” Orban explained. “This is the main reason why they behave differently from us. They want to defeat Russia, they want to achieve military success at any cost,” the prime minister said.

He reiterated that his government intends to do everything possible to prevent Hungary from being drawn into the armed conflict in Ukraine. “This is not our war, and Hungarians should not suffer because of it,” Orban said. He brought a strong argument to justify this position: “NATO is a strong defensive alliance created to protect its member states, not to intervene in another war.”