Hungarian right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has not only questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty, but also declared that the entry of Hungarian reconnaissance drones into Ukrainian airspace is no big deal, writes Politico.
Orbán said in his party’s “Fighter’s Hour” program: “Let’s suppose they flew a few meters in there [Ukraine], and so what?” He added that Ukraine is not an independent country, it is not a sovereign state, and if the West did not support it financially, it would cease to exist tomorrow.
Relations between Kiev and Budapest have been particularly tense in recent months – Hungary is blocking the start of negotiations for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, and still continues to buy Russian energy resources despite the war that Moscow is waging in Ukraine. Ukrainians have attacked a gas pipeline that supplies Hungary, angering Orbán.
The Hungarian prime minister said Kiev had already lost a fifth of its territory and was completely dependent on Western support. Ukraine’s sovereignty had ended. Orbán added that the countries had their own differences, but that
Ukraine and Hungary are not enemies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the 26th of September that “most likely Hungarian drones” had violated Ukrainian airspace to conduct reconnaissance near industrial facilities. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó rejected the accusations and said Zelensky was going crazy with his anti-Hungarian obsession.
Orbán said on the 29th of September that Kyiv should be more concerned about drones on its eastern border, where direct hostilities are also taking place on the ground. He continued his tirade by saying that no one would attack from Hungary, and that a few Hungarian drones were nothing to worry about.
The minister overseeing Orbán’s office announced on the 29th of September that Hungary would impose measures against Ukrainian news websites in response to Kyiv’s decision to restrict access to Hungarian media in the country, citing echoes of Russian propaganda.
Read also: Orbán makes loud statements about the war in Ukraine