“Can’t Just Throw Away Lives” Orban Aide Slams Zelensky’s “Irresponsible” Decision To Fight

Hungary’s most popular opposition figure called for the resignation of one of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s closest aides on Thursday over statements he made suggesting that Hungary wouldn’t have defended itself against a Russian invasion, unlike Ukraine.The aide, Balázs Orbán, who isn’t related to the prime minister, said on his podcast on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had made an “irresponsible” decision by opting to militarily defend his country after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.He said that Hungary had learned from its anti-Soviet uprising in 1956 — which was eventually crushed by the Red Army, killing as many as 3,000 civilians and destroying much of the capital Budapest — that “precious Hungarian lives” must be treated with caution rather than “offering them up” for defense.“Every country has the right to decide its own destiny for itself,” Balázs Orbán said. “But based on ’56, we wouldn’t have done what Pres