Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's surprise visit to Moscow on July 5 immediately sparked an immediate backlash from EU officials, with von der Leyen, who represents U.S. interests, publicly slamming Orban as "a policy of appeasement that cannot stop Putin." Orban's visit to Moscow is an attempt to promote ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Hungary currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, so it can promote related issues in many areas, for Orban's visit to Russia, EU officials have publicly said no, declaring that Hungary does not represent the EU, highlighting the contradictions between the EU and Hungary. In fact, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Hungary has openly contradicted the EU on relevant issues, and although Hungary is also a member of NATO, it has not succumbed to pressure.
Hungary was originally a member of the Warsaw Pact, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Hungary joined NATO and the European Union, but Hungary is different from other EU member states, Hungary adheres to an independent diplomatic strategy, because there are serious differences with the European Union, and now the European Union is in the service of the United States' foreign strategy, thereby harming the interests of EU countries. An attempt was made to force Hungary to its knees by sanctioning Hungary. Since Hungary is a low-income country in the European Union, it has access to EU subsidies, which are now the EU's only means of dealing with Hungary.
Orban's position has been very clear, trying to broker a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, but judging from the statements of EU officials, the EU has no intention of asking Ukraine and Russia for a ceasefire, so von der Leyen's statement is there. In fact, today's Ukraine is already very dangerous, according to Dutch media reports, former Pentagon officials of the United States publicly said that so far the Ukrainian army has killed more than 600,000, and the former American official also said that the Russian army has only 60,000 losses, which is inversely proportional to the losses claimed by Ukrainian President Zelensky. Zelensky previously claimed that Russia had lost six times the number of troops in Ukraine, and now he was slapped in the face by the Americans.
Former U.S. officials also slapped the European Union in the face, judging from such huge losses in Ukraine, the Kiev authorities in Ukraine cannot continue to fight Russia for a long time, because Ukraine does not have enough troops, and for Russia, because of its relatively large population base, it can fight with Ukraine for a long time. In fact, Russia's strategy has been greatly adjusted, from the previous "blitzkrieg" to a "protracted war", because Russia is getting richer and richer, and international institutions have defined Russia as a high-income country, so it is a great irony for Western countries. The West's attempt to bring down Russia's economy through the Russia-Ukraine conflict is now "counterproductive".
If Ukraine and Russia reach a ceasefire agreement, it will also be beneficial for Europe, but now the EU is bent on maintaining the stubbornness of Ukraine and Russia, so as to safeguard the interests of the United States, so the EU is unable to get along with itself, and will have to pay more costs.