Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused European politicians, weapons manufacturers, and bankers of driving the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Speaking at an election campaign event in Szeged on Sunday, Orban reiterated his opposition to the EU’s approach to the war. He identified three groups pushing for the conflict to continue:

First, European politicians who believe “a country with nuclear weapons can be defeated through a conventional war.”

Second, weapons manufacturers who “always want war or some kind of armed conflict.”

Third, bankers, whom Orban stated want the conflict to continue because “otherwise, how will they get their money back? They can only recover their money if Russia is defeated militarily.” He was referring to massive loans intended to fill Ukraine’s war chest and the expectation that Russia would eventually pay reparations.

The prime minister cautioned voters against trusting EU politicians to be “sensible enough not to drag us into war,” urging them instead to rely on public common sense amid growing anti-war sentiment across Europe.

Orban stressed that he opposes prolonging the conflict to prevent Ukraine from collapsing, which he warned would be disastrous for neighboring Hungary.

Last week, EU leaders rejected the European Commission’s proposal to issue a ‘reparations loan’ using frozen Russian assets as collateral for covering Kiev’s budget needs. They instead plan to borrow against the EU’s collective budget, with Hungary and Slovakia receiving exemptions from the scheme. Russia has condemned the proposal to tap its frozen assets, warning that it would amount to theft and a violation of international law.