Politicians from Emerging Europe who have until now reluctantly gone along with the EU-US consensus on the need to support Ukraine in its war against Russia have become suddenly vocal after the return of US President Donald Trump to the White House, and even more so after his public clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on February 28. 

The verbal attacks by Trump and his acolytes on the Ukrainian president in the Oval Office led to an outpouring of support from most leaders of EU countries — but not all of them. 

Taking a conspicuously different line was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose country holds the rotating EU Council presidency this year. 

Orban’s position is not surprising as he is generally considered the most pro-Russian of the EU leaders, and one of the very few high-profile EU politicians to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin since his unprovoked invasion of Ukraine made him an international pariah, at least among the Western democratic community. 

In a letter to European Council President Antonio Costa, Orban encouraged the EU to adopt a similar approach to that of the US under Trump by engaging directly with Moscow.

"I am convinced that the European Union – following the example of the United States – should enter into direct discussions with Russia on a ceasefire and sustainable peace in Ukraine," Orban stated in the letter, which was made public on the Hungarian government's website.

Acknowledging the “strategic differences” among EU member states over their approach to the Ukraine war, Orban also indicated he may block a proposed €20bn fund aimed at acquiring air defence systems and missiles for Ukraine, which is being cut off from US assistance. 

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev, also considered a pro-Russian figure, took Trump's side after the row with Zelenskiy, saying that the meeting “exposed the truth” about the war in Ukraine. 

Radev wrote on his Facebook profile that Trump is trying to achieve an immediate end to the war, searching for ways to achieve that through diplomacy, while the second approach, which he claimed was represented by Zelenskiy, was continuation of the war regardless of costs, “with open attempts to involve Nato in the war and the risk of World War III”.

“Unfortunately, many European politicians still cannot move away from the narrow ideological framework and realise the true nature and prospects of this war. They continue to believe in some kind of utopia that Russia will be defeated and thus push Ukraine towards catastrophe. The continuation of hostilities from now on is accompanied only by even more death, destruction and, obviously and inevitably, even greater losses of territory,” Radev wrote.

Ahead of the meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy, another Southeast European president, Croatia’s Zoran Milanovic, also made his position clear with strong criticism of Europe’s handling of the war at a meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Nataša Pirc Musar on February 26. 

Milanovic has frequently clashed with the Croatian government over its support for Ukraine, and has been labelled an “enemy of Ukraine” by the Kyiv-based Myrotvorets website. 

Neighbouring Serbia has long sought to balance its relations between Russia and the West — with limited success since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted increased pressure for Belgrade to pick a side. 

In a rather perplexing incident, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic voted in favour of a UN resolution supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and calling for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine on February 24. However, the following day, Vucic publicly apologised to the citizens of Serbia saying he was tired and had cast the vote by “mistake”. 

The resolution was proposed by Ukraine and backed by European countries, while both Russia and the US voted against. 

In Georgia, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze wished Donald Trump “endurance and courage” in his “difficult battle” against the so-called “Global War Party” following the February 28 clash with Zelenskiiy. 

Kobakhidze framed the Oval Office spat as a struggle between the “war party”, represented by Zelensky and his proponents, on one side, and the “peace party”, represented by Trump, JD Vance, and their supporters, on the other. 

“It also became clear that the “global war party” and the “deep state” will not easily let go of the war,” Kobakhidze said, returning to a theme commonly used by the ruling Georgian Dream party to criticise its opponents both within and outside the country. 

The positions taken by leading politicians in countries from Hungary to Georgia have drawn criticism from their domestic rivals. 

Speaking after the controversial meeting between Trump and Zelenskiy, Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar warned against his country becoming "the first joint Russian-American colony”. 

In both Bulgaria and Croatia, the presidents have repeatedly clashed with fellow politicians who are pursuing a tougher position against Russia and more active support for Ukraine. 

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s reaction to the row was the opposite to Radev’s; “Ukraine, be brave, be strong. We stand by you,” he wrote on X.

Da Bulgaria, part of the opposition Democratic Bulgaria coalition, went further, linking the defence of Ukraine to Bulgaria’s own security. 

"It is categorical for us that the Bulgarian national interest requires blocking Russia's attempts to impose its domination in the region and resolutely repelling any attempts at a policy of dividing Europe into spheres of influence. Bulgaria should actively participate in common European actions to support the efforts of Ukraine and President Zelenskiy to repel Russian aggression,” the party wrote on its Viber channel.

Similarly in Georgia, former president Salome Zourabichvili, viewed by much of the international and domestic community as the country’s sole legitimate leader following the contested October 2024 parliamentary election, accused Trump of “seconding” America to Putin’s Russia.

Helen Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of the opposition Coalition for Change, voiced her support for the Ukrainian leader on X following the White House meeting, declaring that “Volodymyr Zelensky is a hero, and freedom in the world owes him quite a lot!”