Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 2/7/2025; Author: Amar Karađuz
A statement by Viktor Orban from July 2025, in which he criticizes the alleged positions of the European Union in the context of the war in Ukraine, has been manipulatively presented as his speech about the EU’s desire to carry out a preemptive strike against Russia.
On June 7, 2025, the Borba portal published an article under the following headline:
Orban: The EU wants to launch a preemptive strike on Russia!
The article contains a statement by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the “Carpathian Basin Forum” in Budapest, about relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation in the context of the war in Ukraine. In the introduction, Orban’s statement is summarized about an alleged European “preemptive strike” against Russia through the continuation of the war in Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that EU leaders believe their goal is to fight against Russia and that they want to deliver a preemptive blow to it by continuing the conflict in Ukraine.
In the quoted statement, there is no mention of any European intention to launch a “preemptive strike” against Russia. Orban spoke about the alleged war “propaganda from Brussels,” according to which Russia could attack EU countries and only a preemptive strike could stop it.
At present, Brussels believes that its main task is “to confront Russia in the East,” the Hungarian Prime Minister said.
“According to the military propaganda from Brussels, Russia could attack EU countries, or even NATO, and only a preemptive strike could stop it,” Orban said.
In one Facebook post about Orban’s statement, it is claimed that he commented on the “desire of EU countries for a preemptive strike” against Russia, and that these countries are considering the idea of such an attack.
Orban commented on the desire of EU countries for a ‘preemptive strike’ against Russia
EU countries are considering the idea of a preemptive strike against Russia to prevent a possible attack from it, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, as reported by Magyar Nemzet.
In the continuation of the post, which had over 100 interactions at the time of writing this analysis, part of Orban’s statement is also quoted, according to which “EU leaders see the war in Ukraine as such a ‘preemptive strike,’ which the Union wants to continue.”
What are the Facts?
The claim that the Hungarian Prime Minister spoke about the “EU’s desire” to “launch” a preemptive strike against Russia is manipulative. Viktor Orban made the statement at the Forum of Hungarian Legislators in the Carpathian Basin (KMKF), held on June 5, 2025, about which the Hungarian news agency MTI reported in detail the same day. In MTI’s article, Orban’s statement is quoted in which he criticizes the administration in Brussels, emphasizing that the EU “anticipates” an attack from Russia and believes that a “preemptive blow” is the only solution. However, Orban believes that this preemptive blow, in the minds of leaders in Brussels, is actually the war in Ukraine, not some new military action against Russia.
According to war propaganda from Brussels, Russia could attack EU member states, or even NATO, and only a preemptive blow could stop it – said the Prime Minister, adding that “in their minds” the war in Ukraine is actually that preemptive blow, and the Ukrainian army is already preventing the Russians from occupying Europe.
He emphasized, however, that this is not true – Europe can be defended even without continuing the war in Ukraine.
Therefore, Orban did not say that the European Union wants or is considering launching any “preemptive strike” against Russia, as claimed in the headline of Borba’s article and in the analyzed Facebook post.
A preemptive strike, in the theory of warfare, is undertaken when “there is an assumption or awareness that the enemy is preparing or planning an attack, and it is desired to act first to deprive them of the advantage,” as explained on the website of the Croatian Encyclopedia.
Viktor Orban is known for his skepticism toward the European Union’s approach to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He vetoed the European Council’s decision to send additional military aid in March this year, and also blocked a unified Council statement on the talks regarding Ukraine’s accession to the EU in June this year.We rate the claim that Viktor Orban said the EU wants or is considering launching a preemptive strike against Russia as manipulation of facts. We also rate the headline of Borba’s article as clickbait, as this claim does not appear in the mentioned article.
