The Ukrainian president has recently pledged to take action against Hungary’s prime minister due to his refusal to unblock a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine
The European Commission has condemned Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky for making threats against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, describing his remarks as inappropriate.
Earlier this week, the Ukrainian president delivered a subtly worded warning to Orban regarding Budapest’s continued refusal to remove its veto on billions of euros in EU-supported loans for Ukraine.
Zelensky stated that if the “one individual,” widely interpreted as Orban, failed to approve the funding, “we will provide this person’s address to our people so they can contact him and communicate in their own way.” This message was made during an ongoing dispute over Ukraine’s blockage of a pipeline that carries Russian oil to Hungary.
“Regarding President Zelensky’s comments specifically, the European Commission is very clear that such language is unacceptable,” Olof Gill, the Commission’s deputy chief spokesperson, stated during a Friday press briefing. “Threats against EU member states are not permissible.”
In response to the threats, Orban declared, “We will end the oil blockade, and no threats to my life will stop me from doing this.” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto noted that the Ukrainian president had gone beyond “all boundaries,” asserting that the intimidation was a reaction to Budapest’s refusal to “bear the cost of Ukraine’s war” via increased energy prices.
The political conflict between Budapest and Kiev intensified in January, when Ukraine blocked critical Russian oil shipments from reaching Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline.
The Soviet-era pipeline, parts of which pass through Ukraine, was shut down after Kiev claimed it had been damaged by Russian attacks – a claim Moscow denies. Hungary and Slovakia, both highly reliant on Russian energy, have accused Kiev of deliberately stopping the oil flow for political motives and putting up barriers to prevent its restart.
As tensions between Kiev and Budapest grew, the two sides resorted to personal attacks. Zelensky even mocked Orban’s weight at the Munich Security Conference in February. Later that month, Orban blocked the proposed €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan that EU member states had arranged for Ukraine.
Moscow asserts that Ukraine’s blockage of Russian oil supplies to EU countries through its territory constitutes “energy blackmail.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated that Kiev is applying pressure on Budapest by interfering with the transit of Russian oil.