U.S. Republican Senator Thom Tillis has labeled Viktor Orbán “a puppet to Putin” after the Hungarian prime minister called Ukraine a national “enemy.”
Speaking at a political rally on Saturday ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April, Orbán criticized Kyiv’s push for the EU to halt imports of Russian energy, a key source of funding for Moscow’s war effort.
“Anyone who says this is an enemy of Hungary, so Ukraine is our enemy,” he said.
In a post on X, Tillis responded: “It is sad that Orbán clearly prefers to be a puppet to Putin instead of a friend to NATO.
“That’s something the people of Hungary should consider as they head to the polls this spring,” the senator added.
A Republican from North Carolina, Tillis has consistently supported Ukraine, backed U.S. aid packages and strongly condemned Russia’s invasion.
He once called the Russian leader “a cancer” and “the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime,” adding: “Whoever believes that there is any space for Vladimir Putin and the future of a stable globe better go to Ukraine.”
Orbán, who has long been seen as a pariah in Europe for maintaining close ties with Putin, has increasingly targeted Kyiv and Brussels as the election campaign heats up in Hungary.
Experts speaking to TVP World have said Orbán is attempting to deflect blame by portraying EU plans to cut energy ties with Russia and support for Ukraine as money being “taken away from Hungary.”
A recent independent poll put opposition challenger Péter Magyar’s Tisza party at 51%, compared with 39% for Orbán’s Fidesz party, reflecting the biggest political crisis Orbán has faced since coming to power in 2010.