Orban’s Election Campaign Turns to Russia for Help in Final Stretch

Viktor Orban — Viktor OrbanPhotographer: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images

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By Thomas Escritt

March 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM UTC

A surpise guest appeared at a recent campaign rally for Viktor Orban’s party in eastern Hungary: a Ukrainian prisoner of war freed from Moscow’s captivity.

How he got there illustrates the way in which Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to help the Hungarian prime minister survive next month’s election.