At a swearing-in ceremony of military volunteers on Saturday in Budapest, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated his country's need for an army “capable of striking and ensuring peace” for a worst-case scenario for Europe over the ongoing war in Ukraine and in light of the EU's failed policies towards Russia.

As cited by the Budapest Times, Orban said: “We cannot, like ostriches, bury our heads in the sand. We must accept the reality: if this continues, the economy of the continent will collapse, people will be in danger, and it seems that we must prepare for a protracted war,” adding that “there are nations that have already begun making preparations and we can't fall behind in this either". 

He encouraged the 250 recruits to form the "army capable of striking and capable of ensuring peace” and applauded them as being the "excellence" of Hungary, noting that it needs “a few more” of such forces following its announcement of new recruitment campaigns due to be launched in December.

Heavily dependent on Russian energy, the Central European country exhibited a neutral stance in the war in Ukraine and refused to ship weapons to Kiev, with Orban frequently condemning the EU’s sanctions on Russia and describing them as counterproductive. He has called for “the failed policy of Brussels” to be altered in light of the fact that the sanctions “didn’t fulfill the hopes that were pinned on them,” while the continent is “slowly bleeding.”

Back in September, Orban demanded that sanctions against Russia be lifted, asserting that his country will not face a deficit in gas and oil this coming winter and that the EU is to blame for its energy crisis. The prime minister even urged European leaders to rethink their strategy, due to the widespread damage caused to the European economy.

Orban expressed his distrust in March towards NATO when it comes to real action regarding the country’s security by saying that  “anyone who thinks NATO will protect us is wrong.”