Vladimir Putin and Victor Orban, July 2024, courtesy of the website of the President of Russia under  Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International.

The New York Times reports the Defeat of Orban is a Big Defeat for Putin and a Big Win for Ukraine.Excerpt:

For much of the past four years, Hungary was a persistent source of irritation for Ukraine. An outlier in Europe, Hungary maintained friendly relations with Russia while blocking critical European Union funding for Kyiv and stalling Ukraine’s path toward integration into the bloc.

After the election defeat on Sunday of Viktor Orban, Hungary’s longtime prime minister and the architect of its pro-Kremlin policy, many Ukrainians were hoping for a turning point.

One Ukrainian lawmaker celebrated in Budapest’s streets by chanting, “Russians, go home!” — a slogan embraced by supporters of Peter Magyar, the victorious opposition leader. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine struck a more diplomatic tone in a congratulatory message to Mr. Magyar on social media, but the Ukrainian leader’s hope for improved ties was clear.

“Ukraine has always sought good-neighbourly relations with everyone in Europe and we are ready to advance our cooperation with Hungary,” Mr. Zelensky wrote.

In the immediate term, Sunday’s election result could deliver a much-needed financial boost for Ukraine. Since February, Mr. Orban has blocked a loan of 90 billion euros, about $105 billion, to Kyiv, leaving the government at risk of running out of funds by the end of spring. Mr. Magyar said on Monday at a news conference that he would lift Hungary’s veto.

“It looks as if this sort of Trojan horse for Russia within the E.U. may disappear,” said Andreas Umland, a policy fellow at the new European Policy Institute in Kyiv. “That was the main problem of Ukraine: Hungary functioned not as a E.U. member but as an agent of Russia within the E.U.”

Slava Ukraine!