Ukraine's allies have drifted into war but Hungary won't, Orban says

Western countries that are providing weapons and money to assist Ukraine in its war with Russia have already "drifted" into becoming active participants in the conflict, Hungary's prime minister said on Friday.

In an interview with Hungarian state radio, Viktor Orban said Germany'sdecision on Wednesdayto send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine was emblematic of the increasing role Western countries are playing in the war, now in its 12th month.

Rather than arming Ukraine, the West should pursue "a ceasefire and peace talks," Orban said, without giving details of what he imagined such negotiations would mean for Ukraine's future territorial integrity.

"It started with the Germans saying they were willing to send helmets, because they wouldn't send lethal tools into the war since that would mean participation in it. This is where we started," Orban said. "Now, we're at battle tanks, and they're already talking about planes."

Orban, who has refused to send weapons to neighbouring Ukraine and has held up some European Union efforts to provide aid packages to Kyiv, has consistently argued against EU sanctions on Moscow and portrayed countries that assist Ukraine as being "on the side of war."

His right-wing populist government has pursued increasingly close economic and diplomatic ties with Russia over the last decade, and concluded major agreements on purchasing Russian gas, oil and nuclear fuel. Hungary has threatened to veto any EU sanctions that would affect its access to Russian energy.

Orban said Friday that Hungary getting drawn into the war in Ukraine "is out of the question as long as I am prime minister," but he thinks it is too late for other countries in Europe.

"The others are not only in danger, they have already been swept away," he said. "If you send weapons, if you finance the entire annual budget of one of the belligerents, if you promise more and more weapons, more and more modern weapons, then you can say whatever you want. No matter what you say, you are in the war."

Civilian attacks make response necessary: EU official

A senior European official, commenting separately and not in reference to Orban's interview, said on Friday that Russia has taken its war against Ukraine to a "a different stage" by making indiscriminate attacks on civilians and non-military targets.

Stefano Sannino, Secretary General of the European Union's European External Action Service, defended German and U.S. provisions of the military equipment to Ukraine, and criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for waging a war on NATO and the West.

Sannino, speaking at a news conference in Tokyo as part of an Asia-Pacific tour, said Putin had "moved from a concept of special operation to a concept now of a war against NATO and the West."

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"We may well get to a point where we are able to commit additional tanks," said Defence Minister Anita Anand. "But we have to be prudent about what we need in the Canadian Armed Forces."

He said German and U.S. tank provisions announced this week are meant to help Ukrainians defend themselves in the war, rather than making them attackers.

"I think that this latest development in terms of armed supply is just an evolution of the situation and of the way Russia started moving the war into a different stage," Sannino said. He said that Russia is making "indiscriminate attacks" on civilians and cities and no longer military targets.

Germany's foreign minister said Thursday that any Leopard tanks it has pledged to Ukraine would likely not be utilized there until sometime in the spring, given delivery and training times.

The wait for U.S. Abrams tanks may be even longer. Sabrina Singh, Pentagon deputy press secretary, told reporters on Thursday that the U.S. doesn't have the tanks "in excess" in their own stocks and will be supplying Ukraine through its procurement process.

Singh said she was unable to give a specific timelineon training of Ukrainian troops on the tanks or delivery.

Canada on Thursday announced it would supply Ukraine with four Leopard 2 tanks. The Canadian Armed Forces has 112 Leopard 2s in its inventory, but many are not battle-ready because of maintenance issues.