Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to meet with Hungary’s leader and announced a trip to India next week, an apparent attempt to show that Western efforts to make him a pariah have failed as he pushes maximalist demands for a Ukraine peace deal.
The talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will focus on energy issues, while Moscow and New Delhi are reportedly expected to announce several bilateral pacts including on defense.
The diplomatic offensive comes with Putin appearing to believe that a battlefield offensive is helping him in his demand that Ukraine withdraw from territories claimed by the Kremlin, a position Kyiv argues would reward Moscow for its full-scale invasion.