A surprise guest appeared at a recent campaign rally for Viktor Orban¡¯s party in eastern Hungary: a Ukrainian prisoner of war freed from Moscow¡¯s captivity.

How he got there illustrates the way in which Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to help the Hungarian prime minister survive next month¡¯s election.

Orban has frequently sought to obstruct the European Union¡¯s efforts to support Ukraine and punish Moscow for its invasion. Most polls now suggest that Putin¡¯s closest ally in the EU could lose power after 16 years in office.