Kiev’s attacks on critical energy infrastructure are unacceptable, top Hungarian officials have said FILE PHOTO: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban © Leon Neal / Getty Images Ukraine cannot force its way into the European Union through extortion, bombings and threats, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. He and other officials in Budapest have accused Kiev of jeopardizing the country’s energy security. Ukrainian forces have struck the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline several times this month, halting the flow of Russian oil to Hungary and neighboring Slovakia. Vladimir Zelensky remarked on Sunday, with a smile and a play on the pipeline’s name, that Kiev’s “friendship” with Budapest depends on Hungary’s stance. Orban described Zelensky’s comments as a “public threat” and a confession that Kiev had intentionally jeopardized his country’s energy security “because we don’t support their EU membership,” according to Magyar Nemzet on Monday. “This shows that the Hungarians made the right choice,” Orban added. Earlier this year, Hungary blocked EU accession talks with Ukraine, following an unofficial national referendum in which more than 2 million Hungarians – around 95% of voters – rejected Kiev’s bid. Orban’s remarks were echoed by his chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, who condemned Ukraine’s actions as “unacceptable” at a government briefing on Monday. “Even if Ukraine were already an EU member, it would still have no right to dictate from whom we buy our energy,” Gulyas stressed. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto also issued a sharp rebuke to Zelensky’s “intimidation” in a post on X. “We call on Zelensky to stop threatening Hungary and to end the reckless attacks on our energy security!” he wrote on Sunday. In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga argued that Szijjarto cannot dictate to Zelensky “what to do or say, and when,” and urged Budapest to “diversify and become independent from Russia, like the rest of Europe.” The European Union’s economic success has long depended on access to affordable Russian raw materials and, despite Brussels’ push to phase out this energy supply, “we don’t see today where Europe will get price-competitive, guaranteed alternatives,” Gulyas noted. Unlike many EU countries, Hungary has refused to send weapons to Kiev and maintains that Ukraine’s NATO membership could trigger an all-out conflict with Russia. The Druzhba controversy has become yet another source of tension in relations already strained by Hungary’s opposition to EU sanctions against Moscow and disputes over the rights of ethnic Hungarians living in western Ukraine.
