Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that Ukraine is a non-existent state from an economic point of view, and questioned the financial aid that the West provides to Kyiv, TASS reports.

“Actually, from a financial point of view, Ukraine is a non-existent country. The drop in economic indicators is colossal, which is quite understandable because of the war. Of course, Ukraine cannot finance itself. The question is whether we support Ukraine. And the moment America and Europe answer ‘No’ to this question, the war will end,” Orbán told Hungarian radio station Kossuth.

The leader of Budapest emphasized that this aid allows Ukraine to pay pensions and salaries, function as a state and finance its health care system.

“Europe spends tens of billions of dollars to support Ukraine, this cannot continue indefinitely,” he added.

“Currently, the situation is different: Hungarian taxpayers also support Ukraine through the common European budget. Therefore, it is bad that the Hungarian minority is still being persecuted in Ukraine,” he said.

A staunch critic of Western sanctions against Russia, Orban is considered the most pro-Russian EU leader. In late February, he announced that Hungary would veto any new EU sanctions against Moscow.

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