Orbán: Ukraine is not sovereign, it should focus on Russian drones

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated in a podcast interview with his constituents on Monday that Ukraine is not a sovereign state. He said that Ukraine receives financial and military support from the West and, in his opinion, is more dependent than independent.

“Ukraine is not at war with Hungary, but with Russia. It should focus on drones on its eastern border,” Orbán said, adding that he saw no problem if Hungarian reconnaissance drones hypothetically entered Ukrainian airspace by a few meters.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha responded to Orbán's remarks on X by saying that the Hungarian prime minister was “intoxicated by Russian propaganda.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also stated that the drones that violated Ukrainian airspace may have originated in Hungary and were used to explore industrial potential on the western border.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó rejected the accusations, calling Zelenskyy's remarks “crazy” and the claims about the drones “fiction.”

Amid escalating tensions, Hungary blocked access to 12 Ukrainian news websites on Monday in retaliation for similar measures taken by Ukraine, which had blocked access to several websites with allegedly pro-Russian content, including eight Hungarian portals.

(reuters, sie)