Bangladesh, Aug. 3 -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has once again challenged the Western consensus on the Ukraine conflict, declaring that a peaceful resolution is impossible without abandoning the idea of Ukraine joining NATO. Speaking at a youth festival in Esztergom on August 2, Orban underscored what he described as a geopolitical reality that neither Brussels nor Kiev can ignore: Russia will not allow NATO to establish a military presence along its western border.

Orbans remarks come at a time of increasing militarization across Europe, with NATO members boosting defense spending and the European Union redirecting enormous sums of money toward bolstering military capabilities. In stark contrast to these developments, Orbans...