Hungarians see Ukraine as a greater threat than Russia

The population of Hungary considers Ukraine a greater threat to them than Russia.

This is evidenced by a survey conducted by the Policy Solutions analytical center, the results of which were reported by the Hungarian independent publication Telex.

According to the survey conducted in the spring, 51% of Hungarians see Ukraine as the biggest threat, followed by Russia (46%), China (34%), and the USA (34%). This marks a significant change compared to last year: in 2023, Hungarians still viewed Russia as the greatest threat—12 percentage points more than Ukraine.

Researchers noted that the perception of Ukraine among the Hungarian population has deteriorated the most over the past year compared to other countries. This trend spans all respondents, regardless of their political affiliation.

A quarter of Hungarians (27%) believe it would be in Hungary’s interest to move closer to Russia and distance itself from the European Union. Meanwhile, a relative majority of Hungarian society (43%) still rejects closer cooperation with Russians.

Compared to the 2023 survey, the attitude towards Ukrainian refugees among Hungarians has worsened. Currently, only 17% of respondents would feel comfortable if Ukrainian refugees settled in their neighborhood, whereas every second respondent (49%) would feel uncomfortable about this.

The question of whether the European Union should help Ukraine divides Hungarian society.