The gathering, dubbed a “peace march” by organizers, came on Hungary’s Oct. 23 national holiday, a remembrance of a failed anti-Soviet uprising in 1956 that was crushed by the Red Army.

Leaders of 26 EU member states at the summit in Brussels on 23-24 October plan to endorse a decision recognising Ukraine's readiness to open accession talks with the Union across three negotiating clusters.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is using a "tactic of moral blackmail" and that "Hungary has no moral obligation to support Ukraine's EU accession".

With the ballot approaching in April, long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán — trailing in most polls to his main political rival, Péter Magyar — hopes to use Thursday's show of force to reinvigorate his base that has had its confidence shaken by a series of political scandals and years of high prices and economic stagnation.

Hungary's strongman leader Viktor Orbán calls Trump's announcement of a meeting with Putin in his country great news for "peace-loving people."

“Budapest is essentially the only place in Europe today where such a meeting could be held, primarily because Hungary is almost the only pro-peace country,” Orbán said. “For three years, we have been the only country that has consistently, openly, loudly and actively advocated for peace.”

The former German chancellor emphasized that Hungary's prime minister has always sought compromise on the European stage.

Hungary should not adopt the euro currency as the European Union is "disintegrating" and Hungary should not tie its fate closer to the bloc, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday in an interview with economic news site EconomX.

The EU wants to go to war - at least that's what Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán thinks. However, Orbán does not think much of these "war

The EU is reportedly discussing a new enlargement model that would grant new member states limited voting rights at first – a proposal that could make Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán more amenable to Ukraine's accession.

The contentious proposal would see Kyiv receive €140bn (£121bn) worth of frozen Russian state assets currently held in Belgium.