A pro-Trump European leader predicts he will abandon Ukraine: ‘The Americans will quit this war’

• Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán said the US will abandon its support for Ukraine, days after Trump’s win.
• He said that the US “will quit” the war and there’s a “military defeat in Ukraine,” per reports.
• Trump’s advisors are reportedly laying out plans on how to end the fighting in Ukraine.

Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orbán, has a chilling forecast: the US will abandon Ukraine under President-elect Donald Trump.

“The Americans will quit this war,” he told national radio, per multiple outlets, including Reuters. “There is military defeat in Ukraine.”

Orbán is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, a position that has put him out of favor in the bloc.

Trump and Orbán have long shown mutual admiration.

In the past, Trump called Orbán his “friend” and lauded him for his knowledge of world affairs. And during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in September, Trump described Orbán as one of the world’s “most respected men” — a “strong man” and “a tough person.”

The Hungarian prime minister’s prediction came after Trump secured a return to the White House, and follows reports that Trump’s advisors are laying out different plans on how to end the war in Ukraine.

One plan includes establishing an 800-mile demilitarized zone and having Ukraine pledge not to join NATO for at least 20 years, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing three people close to Trump.

Keith Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, two top officials who served on the National Security Council under Trump’s first administration, presented another plan to Trump earlier this year that involved withholding weapons from Ukraine until the country agreed to engage in peace talks with Russia, Reuters reported at the time.

Trump hasn’t approved a specific plan as yet, those close to him told the Journal.

Orbán’s forecast comes as world leaders hold key meetings this week, in part to discuss the war in Ukraine.

At a press conference held at the European Political Community in Budapest on Thursday, Orbán also urged Europe to define the terms of a Ukrainian victory, saying he hoped this “intellectual” work would be done by Friday night.

European leaders are convening at a European Council summit in Budapest on Friday, where they are expected to discuss security and geopolitics in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Axel Springer media outlets earlier this year, Orbán said he was holding meetings with world leaders as part of a “peace mission” tour to create a “limited-time” cease-fire to speed up peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Orbán was among the first European leaders to congratulate Trump on his victory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also quickly congratulated Trump, saying that strong and unwavering US leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace.