A majority of 54% of Hungarians believe that there is a “real danger” that the Russian-Ukrainian war will escalate into the third world war, and 55% believe that one of the parties to the conflict may deploy nuclear weapons, the poll shows. Conducted by the Nesopont Institute, quoted on Monday by the MTI and Agerpres agencies.

At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, more than a year ago, many Hungarians believed that it would soon end, Nesopont recalls.

Instead, only 42% of respondents believe that there is no real threat of a new world conflict, and another 41% believe that the threat of deploying nuclear weapons is also unrealistic.

Meanwhile, among those who fear a world war, 81% also fear that nuclear weapons will be deployed, and only 16% believe that another world war will not involve such weapons.

Among those who are not afraid of a global conflict, 77% are not afraid of the destruction that nuclear weapons could cause, and 21% believe that the use of nuclear weapons in a local conflict would be possible even in the absence of the risk of a world war, the survey also showed. It was conducted by telephone on a sample of 1,000 adults on April 17-19.

An outspoken critic of Western sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly stated that his government only wants peace between Moscow and Kyiv.

In an interview with radio station Kossuth last month, he said the world was closer than ever to turning a local conflict into a world war, accused the West of being gripped by “war fever” and complained that Hungary and the Vatican were the only European countries that stand for peace.

In another interview with the Kossuth TV channel this month, he said that Western aid to Ukraine could not continue indefinitely and suggested that ending it would lead to an end to the war.