Europe
Putin Gives Orban’s Campaign a Helping Hand With POW Release
Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Moscow on March 4, in this pool photo supplied by Russian state media.
Photographer: Gigory Sysoyev/AFP/Getty ImagesRussia plans to release two ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war to Budapest, giving Prime Minister Viktor Orban a helping hand in his campaign ahead of April’s elections.
The move is the latest episode in a period of escalating tensions between Hungary and Ukraine, with Budapest accusing Kyiv of blocking Hungary’s energy supplies and of conspiring with Brussels to topple Orban and draw Hungary into war.