Russia's closest European ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has drawn ire from the EU over his Friday trip to meet Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Orban, whose country assumed the EU's rotating presidency on July 1, is a self-declared "peacemaker" whose administration has repeatedly opposed — but mostly allowed to pass — EU and NATO military and financial aid measures in support of war-torn neighbor Ukraine. Hungary has retained working relations with Russia despite most other Western countries completely cutting ties with the nation in response to its February 2022 invasion. Setting a landmark precedent, NATO last month agreed to allow Budapest's nonparticipation in the coalition's deepening support of Ukraine — in exchange for Hungary not blocking such initi