Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is travelling to Moscow for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a move that underlines Budapest’s continued energy dependence on Russia and its increasingly lonely position inside the European Union on the war in Ukraine. In a video posted on his social media accounts, Orbán confirmed that he would meet Putin in the Russian capital to discuss crude oil and natural gas supplies for the coming winter and for 2026, as well as “peace efforts” related to the war.
Orbán framed the trip as a matter of national energy security, saying he was going “so that Hungary has guaranteed energy supplies for the winter and for next year”. Hungary remains heavily reliant on Russian fossil fuels: it receives the bulk of its gas via the TurkStream and Brotherhood pipelines and still imports Russian oil through the Druzhba network, taking advantage of EU exemptions for landlocked countries. While most EU members have spent the past three years scrambling to diversify away from Russian energy, Orbán’s government has repeatedly argued that abruptly severing these ties would inflict disproportionate damage on the Hungarian economy. He has called sanctions on Russian oil and gas a “red line” and warned against swapping “secure” long-term Russian contracts for what he casts as more expensive and uncertain alternatives
The Moscow visit comes at a particularly sensitive moment. Western governments are working on a revised peace framework for Ukraine, while Kyiv faces intense pressure to defend itself amid continued Russian attacks. According to Russian and Hungarian media, Orbán’s delegation includes senior energy and foreign policy officials, underscoring that the agenda is not limited to technical supply contracts but also touches broader political questions about the war and sanctions. The Kremlin has confirmed that talks will focus on energy and discussions around possible peace initiatives in Ukraine.
Inside the EU and NATO, Orbán’s move is widely seen as another breach of informal unity at a time when member states have tried to isolate Moscow diplomatically. It is his third in-person meeting with Putin since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and it follows a controversial trip to Moscow in 2024 that EU leaders said he undertook without any mandate to represent the bloc. On that occasion, European Council President Charles Michel publicly reminded him that the rotating EU presidency, held by Hungary in 2024, “has no mandate to engage with Russia on behalf of the EU” and that “no discussions about Ukraine can take place without Ukraine at the table” – a message that will resonate again as Orbán walks into the Kremlin.
At home, the Hungarian leader presents himself as a pragmatist pursuing national interests in a dangerous world, willing to talk to all sides to secure cheap energy and, as he often claims, to push for peace. In his public statements he has accused unnamed “external forces” of wanting to prolong the war, suggested that Kyiv should accept a ceasefire to open the door to negotiations, and criticised what he portrays as Europe’s drift into a proxy war with Russia. Critics inside and outside Hungary argue that this rhetoric mirrors key talking points from Moscow and helps to undermine support for Ukraine across the EU.
The trip also has to be read in light of Hungary’s blocking role in Ukraine’s path towards the EU. Since mid-2025 Budapest has been vetoing the opening of a new cluster of accession negotiations with Kyiv, citing concerns over the language and education rights of the Hungarian minority in western Ukraine and the potential economic costs of Ukrainian membership. Other EU capitals see those objections as exaggerated and politically motivated, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has openly warned that Hungary’s stance “only benefits Russia”. Orbán’s decision to sit down once more with Putin while continuing to stall Ukraine’s accession bid will deepen suspicions that Budapest is positioning itself as Moscow’s most sympathetic voice inside the Union.
For the Kremlin, the optics of the meeting are valuable in their own right. As Russia faces ongoing sanctions, war-crimes accusations and efforts to limit its diplomatic reach, being able to host the leader of an EU and NATO member state allows Putin to project an image of continued relevance and to highlight cracks in Western unity. Russian state media are likely to amplify Orbán’s criticism of EU sanctions and his demands for a negotiated settlement on terms closer to Moscow’s preferences.
Beyond symbolism, concrete outcomes will be closely watched. Hungary has already secured long-term gas contracts with Gazprom and is pressing ahead with a Russian-built expansion of its Paks nuclear power plant, financed largely by a state loan from Moscow. Further deals on gas volumes, pricing formulas or nuclear cooperation would deepen the country’s structural dependence on Russia well into the 2030s, potentially constraining future Hungarian governments even if EU policy hardens further.
Orbán’s visit encapsulates the paradox of Hungary’s current foreign policy: a small, landlocked EU and NATO member that relies on Western security guarantees and EU funds, yet openly courts Moscow and frequently obstructs common European positions on Russia and Ukraine. Whether the trip will deliver tangible energy benefits for Hungarian households or mostly political leverage for the Kremlin, it will intensify the debate in Brussels and other capitals over how far a single member state can go in pursuing its own “Eastern opening” without crossing fundamental lines of EU solidarity.
