Hungary playing role in spreading disinformation about rationale for Russia's invasion to Trump's team, Zelensky says

President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference on Feb. 23 that it was "dangerous" that members of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's team are spreading disinformation about the rationale for the start of the war to members of U.S. President Donald Trump's orbit.

"I know that there are people from this Hungarian leader who have contact with people in President Trump's orbit, and are constantly raising questions... in regards to not expanding NATO into eastern Europe," Zelensky said, criticizing Kremlin talking points that NATO was at fault for Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Orban, known for his close ties with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump, has openly criticized EU aid for Ukraine and obstructed sanctions against Moscow.

Hungarian government insiders revealed that Trump sought Orban’s opinion on strategies to end the Ukraine war multiple times after Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election.

In February 2024, Orban said that Ukraine should be left as a "buffer zone" between Russia and the West, with allies giving the country security guarantees but not accepting it into the EU or NATO.

Trump has himself previously criticized former President Joe Biden for provoking Russia’s invasion, claiming Ukraine’s potential NATO membership had long been a significant concern for Moscow. "I could understand their feelings," he said, referring to the country that launched the deadliest war in Europe since World War II.

"Is it not a risk that all the countries that became NATO members after various agreements between the (former) Soviet Union and the U.S. that they could all be under attack or occupation by the Russian army on their territory," Zelensky added, criticizing disproven talking points about NATO expansionism.

"This is why all this disinformation... is dangerous, and I want President Trump to speak to me — with those at the table, not those who walk around the table."

Zelensky's comments come amid a strained week in U.S.-Ukraine relations.

Earlier in the week, Trump blamed Ukraine for starting the war, saying Kyiv "should have never started it" and instead should have "made a deal."Later Trump added that Zelensky is not essential to negotiations to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

"I don't think he's very important to be at meetings, to be honest with you," Trump told Fox News Radio on Feb. 21.

Trump later conceded that Russia, not Ukraine, was the aggressor. "Russia attacked, but they shouldn't have let him attack," he said.

On Feb. 19, Trump called Zelensky a "dictator" in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, accusing him of refusing to have elections, and repeating false claims about the war in Ukraine.

"He refuses to have elections, is very low in Ukrainian polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden 'like a fiddle,'" Trump wrote.

A poll release the same day by case of Ukraine (IBIF) project in partnership with the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) found that around 63% of Ukrainians approve of Volodymyr Zelensky's actions as a president.