Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has characterized the anti-Ukraine policies and messages of populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a “historic mistake“, report RFE.
In an interview with Hungarian media outlet Valasz Online, published on Tuesday, Zelensky accused Orbán of using anti-Ukraine propaganda to gain domestic political advantage.
“He [Orbán] is using Ukraine for his electoral purposes,” Zelensky said. “He does not understand that this will have very serious and dangerous consequences. By not helping us, he is doing a favor to [Russian President, Vladimir] Putin. Therefore, I say that Viktor is making a serious and historic mistake.”
For weeks, Orbán’s government has been running a campaign featuring billboards with messages opposing aid to Ukraine and resisting Kyiv’s membership in the European Union. The main message of the campaign is that assistance to Ukraine would draw Hungary into the war and harm the country’s economy. Some billboards even feature Zelensky’s portrait. “How can he use my face for his elections? I have not given permission for such a thing,” Zelensky stated.
The Ukrainian President also recalled that in May of this year, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) arrested two ethnic Ukrainians of Hungarian descent suspected of spying for Hungary’s military intelligence service, KNBSZ. He added that new evidence has been found, but it has not been made public.
In response, Hungary arrested a person for espionage, claiming they were suspected of working for Ukraine and were close to Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar.
Hungary – a member state of both the EU and NATO – is expected to hold parliamentary elections in early 2026. Orbán, who has been in power since 2010, is facing pressure as Magyar’s new conservative Tisza party is leading in opinion polls.
