Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, after visiting Kyiv and moscow, warned the EU leadership that "more dramatic losses and events on the front line than ever before are possible in Ukraine". Orban stated this in a private letter to EU leaders, reports "Current Time".
The investigative project "System" reviewed the letter Orban sent to European Council President Charles Michel and the heads of EU member states after his visits to Kyiv and moscow in July 2024.
The letter, dated July 5 and sent from Azerbaijan, where Orban traveled after meeting with putin, was not intended for the public. "Radio Liberty" received it from a European official who wished to remain anonymous, as he was not authorized to comment on the topic in the media. Two other EU officials confirmed the letter's authenticity.
Orban writes that during his trips to Ukraine and russia, he did not speak on behalf of the entire EU but wanted to understand the positions of the warring parties. He briefly mentions Zelensky's position but extensively recounts putin's views.
According to Orban, russian authorities are confident that "time is not on Ukraine's side but on the side of russian forces". In his conversation with the Hungarian prime minister, putin did not mention russian losses at the front but spoke at length about his estimates of Ukrainian losses. Citing putin, Orban mentions a figure of 40-50 thousand per month, the same estimate the russian president recently gave in a meeting with editors of foreign media.
"The president of russia was surprised that the president of Ukraine rejected a temporary ceasefire", - writes Orban.
Orban spoke about the need for a temporary ceasefire at a joint press conference with Zelensky during his trip to Kyiv. Later, in an interview with Bloomberg, Zelensky said that Ukraine was not ready for a temporary ceasefire, as russia could use this period to gather strength in the occupied territories.
According to Orban's letter, putin fears similar actions from Ukraine. "According to the president of russia, they are ready to consider any proposal for a ceasefire that does not serve as a cover for the relocation and regrouping of Ukrainian forces", - reports Orban.
Orban noted that both moscow and Kyiv are ready for peace talks only with the participation of both parties. After the peace summit in Switzerland, Ukraine announced that it would invite russia to the next summit. This is the only point in the letter where Orban details Ukraine's position on negotiations.
In summary, Orban concludes that Europe must take autonomous initiative, as the US is too preoccupied with the election campaign.
"If we cannot contain or stop this process, then in the next two months we will witness more dramatic losses and military events on the front line than ever before", - writes Orban.