Peace can never mean surrender and sovereignty can never mean occupation, Ursula von der Leyen has said in a fresh rebuke to those pressuring Ukraine into agreeing to a settlement with Russia that would likely entail giving up parts of its territory.

Warning that “peace cannot be taken for granted,” the European Commission president urged her fellow leaders to reject deceitful narratives that blur the lines, reverse roles and shift responsibilities in the invasion, now into its third year with no resolution in sight.

“Today, some politicians inside our Union, and even in this part of Europe, are muddying the waters of our conversation about Ukraine. They blame the war not on the invader but on the invaded; not on Putin’s lust for power but on Ukraine’s thirst for freedom,” she said on Friday, speaking at the GLOBSEC Forum in Prague.

“So I want to ask them: Would you ever blame Hungarians for the Soviet invasion of 1956? Would you ever blame Czechs for the Soviet repression in 1968? And the answer to this question is very clear: The Kremlin’s behaviour was illegal and atrocious back then. And the Kremlin’s behaviour is illegal and atrocious today.”Although not mentioned by name, one of the prime targets of von der Leyen’s admonition was Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary who last month triggered a furious outcry when, in an unannounced trip, he flew to Moscow and met face to face with Putin to discuss possible ways to end the war.

Putin welcomed Orbán as a representative of the European Union, despite the premier’s lack of mandate to speak on behalf of the 27-member bloc.

The visit prompted a boycott against Hungary’s six-month presidency of the Council of the EU, which began on 1 July. Von de Leyen ordered her Commissioners to abide by the no-show policy and forsake attendance in meetings held in Budapest. She later excoriated the so-called “peace mission” in her re-election speech before the European Parliament, prompting loud applause from lawmakers.

On Friday, she continued the denunciation, arguing that those who oppose military supplies to Kyiv are not making the case for peace but rather for “appeasement and subjugation.” Emboldened by his veto power, Orbán has repeatedly derailed the bloc’s efforts to provide further military assistance to the war-torn nation. As of today, Brussels has €6.5 billion completely paralysed by Hungary’s opposition.

“We Europeans may have different histories. We may speak different languages but in no language, peace is synonymous with surrender. In no language, sovereignty is synonymous with occupation,” von der Leyen told the audience in Prague.

“My position is that peace is not simply the absence of war. Peace is a settlement that makes war impossible and unnecessary,” she added, noting that Ukraine’s integration into the European Union should be at “the heart of our peace effort.”

Orbán has also questioned Ukraine’s EU aspirations. His deputies have said no chapter of the accession process will be opened during the country’s presidency.