First posted on Instagram
Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who now serves as Norway's finance minister, told a Budapest audience on Friday that Western support for Ukraine is not charity but an investment in Europe's own security, warning that Russia must not be allowed to succeed in its war against Ukraine.
Stoltenberg was speaking on behalf of Norway at a ceremonial session of Hungary's National Assembly marking the 70th anniversary of the October 23, 1956 revolution, when Hungarians rose against Soviet-backed communist rule before Soviet tanks crushed the uprising. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar and President András Baka were among those at the ceremony.
Drawing a parallel between Hungarians facing Soviet tanks in 1956 and Ukrainians facing Russian tanks today, Stoltenberg said democracy can no longer be taken for granted. He described Russia's war as an attack on a sovereign, democratic nation and said Moscow seeks to reshape the European peace order through aggression — an argument, he said, for unity within NATO, within Europe and alongside Ukraine. Ukraine's struggle, he said, concerns not only its own survival but sovereignty, democracy and self-determination, and support for Kyiv serves the security of the countries providing it.
"Our support for Ukraine is not charity. It is an investment in our own security," Stoltenberg said in the address, returning to an argument he made repeatedly as NATO chief, including at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2024.
His argument lands in a live debate in Western capitals over the cost of continued military support. Critics point to the burden on taxpayers, pressure on housing and public services, and the risk of a bigger confrontation with Moscow, and argue for greater emphasis on diplomacy. Supporters counter that reducing aid would leave Europe less secure and, in the end, costlier — the question at the heart of the post: whether continued military support is defending democracy or risking an even bigger confrontation.
The anniversary carried a personal connection for Stoltenberg. He said he grew up listening to his parents' stories of the uprising: his parents volunteered at the Austrian-Hungarian border helping refugees fleeing the crackdown, and some of those refugees became lasting friends of the family. He also recalled living in Budapest with his wife in the early 1990s, and passed on the greetings of a 94-year-old former student who witnessed the events of October 23, 1956, and later settled in Norway.
Stoltenberg traced Hungary's path from decades of oppression to the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 and membership of NATO and the European Union, which he described as the two pillars of a Euro-Atlantic security community rooted in democracy, freedom and the rule of law. He also recognised Hungary's contributions to NATO, including leading a multinational battlegroup, hosting an Alliance headquarters and contributing to the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, linking those contributions to shared security and stability in the Western Balkans.
Stoltenberg led NATO from 2014 until October 2024 and returned to Norwegian politics as finance minister in February 2025. His Budapest appearance came as European leaders gathered for the anniversary in a new chapter of EU-Hungary relations after Péter Magyar's party ousted Viktor Orbán's government in April elections; von der Leyen told the ceremony that the victory of democracy is never a given and that every generation must fight for it.