Viktor Orban Reminds Europe that it “Shot Itself in Foot” by Sanctioning Russia
Jose Nino
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At the end of last month, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized the European Union’s decision to sanction Russia over its military incursion in Ukraine. He declared that the supranational bloc “shot itself in the foot” by imposing such heavy-handed measures, which has sparked a massive increase in energy prices across Europe.
During a speech he gave before the Hungarian parliament on September 26, 2022 Orban was pushing for a ceasefire to end the conflict. According to a Press TV report, Orban added that the sanctions did not work and were damaging Europe’s economy.
“We can safely say that as a result of the sanctions, European people have become poorer, while Russia has not fallen to its knees,” the prime minister stated, continuing, “This weapon has backfired, with the sanctions Europe has shot itself in the foot.”
“We are waiting for an answer, the entire Europe is waiting for an answer from Brussels on how long we will keep doing this,” he stated. He stressed that it was also time to have a frank conversation with the US about the efficacy of the sanctions.
As a response to Russia’s controversial military operation in Ukraine, which started on February 24, the Collective West has embarked on a massive sanctions campaign against Russia. Since then, Europe has been dealing with a massive energy crisis due to the sanctions and other measures that have cut it off from Russian oil and gas.
Russia launched its military incursion into Ukraine on February 24 with the ostensive goal of demilitarizing the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, two breakaway regions that have attempted to separate from Ukraine after the Euromaidan revolution of 2014 which saw the Ukrainian government try to impose a controversial Ukrainezation program over the Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine.
Over the past two months, the US government has deployed military aid packages to Ukraine worth nearly $550 million and $1 billion. These packages included artillery ammunition, HIMARS ammunition, Javelin missiles, and additional anti-armor weapons.
Russia has been aggravated by the deluge of weapons the Collective West has sent to Ukraine. In fact, it has argued that by sending so much military equipment to Ukraine, the West has effectively become a co-belligerent in this conflict.
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