The Meaning of Orbán’s Defeat: Putin’s Axis-Aligned Network Has Reached an Important Milestone

Viktor Orbán’s defeat matters for reasons larger than Hungary. On April 12, 2026, Orbán conceded after sixteen years in power, ending the rule of one of the Kremlin’s most useful embedded allies inside the European Union. He was not just another nationalist head of government. He was a veto point, an obstructive node, a man whose value to Moscow lay in his ability to slow, blur, and fracture…