The war in Ukraine may have strengthened Western alliances in Europe – but not in all cases. The big outlier seems to be Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Orban has refused to supply weapons to Ukraine, unlike many other EU countries, and has been critical of EU sanctions on Moscow.

The prime minister also stressed in the past that Russian President Putin had made Russia great again, a comment that his close advisor Zoltan Kovacs defended in this week's DW Conflict Zone.

"The words of the prime minister are exactly true. This is what we see today. Russia regained strength," said Kovacs, who is Hungary's Secretary of State for International Communication.

Kovacs, however, explained "Hungary was among the first to condemn the aggression" and said peace talks are "the only way out of the conflict."