Curious how Washington keeps circling back to the same uneasy dance with Moscow, this whole episode feels like one of those moments where you blink and suddenly the geopolitical logic has flipped without any corresponding shift on the ground. The October sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil were the only truly consequential economic pressure the Trump administration ever put on Russia to push it toward meaningful negotiation over Ukraine. Those measures hit revenue streams, strategic capabilities, and Kremlin-aligned elites in ways Moscow genuinely dislikes.

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Teofil Bartoszewski’s assertion that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s policies are anti-European, anti-Ukrainian, and anti-Polish reflects deepening concerns within the European Union about Hungary’s increasingly divergent stance on critical issues affecting the region. Orban’s government has often found itself at odds with mainstream European policies, particularly regarding the handling of the Ukraine crisis and broader EU integration efforts. Bartoszewski’s critique is grounded in a context where Hungary, under Orban, has pursued a notably independent foreign policy, often cozying up to Russia, which has caused friction with neighboring countries and EU partners.