Volodymyr Zelenski threatens Viktor Orban

Tension in relations between Ukraine and Hungary has been increasing markedly in fresh weeks. On Polish Radio 24 Ukrainian writer Oleh Biłecki spoke about the worsening situation. In the interview he referred both to the actions of the authorities in Budapest and to the controversial message of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenski.

Relations between states deteriorated, among others, after the Ukrainian Ministry of abroad Affairs reported the kidnapping of 7 employees of the Ukrainian bank by the Hungarian services. Additionally, on Friday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced a halt to the transit of goods applicable to Ukraine. The condition for lifting this blockade is to reconstruct Russian oil transport by pipeline Friendship. The head of the Hungarian Government besides reiterated his opposition to Ukraine's future membership of the European Union.

Additional tension was caused by an earlier message by the president of Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenski referred to Budapest blocking a financial support package for Ukraine worth EUR 90 billion, which the European Union plans to supply in the form of loans.

“We hope that 1 individual in the European Union will not block EUR 90 billion or the first tranche of this amount and that Ukrainian soldiers will have guns. Otherwise, we will give this man's address to our armed forces and have our boys call him and talk to him in their own language," said Zelenski.

Commenting on this statement, Oleh Biłecki admitted that the tensions between Kiev and Budapest are indeed increasing.

— Unfortunately, the tension between our countries is increasing, according to the journalist. At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine has no objections to Hungarian society. “We want friendly relations with Hungary. Especially due to the fact that there is simply a Hungarian number in Zakarpacie, and our countries share a complicated, shared history," he added.

According to Biłecki, the tightening of the rhetoric of the authorities in Budapest may be related to the political situation in the country. The upcoming elections make Prime Minister Viktor Orbán increasingly scope for a sharper language.

“ Viktor Orbán’s rhetoric has late been very confrontational and can be saturated with aggressive elements. We take this as part of an electoral run to mobilize voters,” said the Ukrainian commentator.

Biłecki besides admitted that the words of Volodymyr Zelenski may not have been best chosen in the current situation.

— It may not have been the best message of Volodymyr Zelenski, although I realize what he meant," he said. In his opinion, the words of the Ukrainian president can be utilized by both Viktor Orbán and Russian propaganda.

The writer pointed out that Zelenski's message may have been a metaphorical mention to the "language", which in the context of war means military force or actions carried out by Ukrainian armed forces, including those liable for unmanned systems and drone operations.

Comment: 4 years of war in Ukraine have clearly shown that its leader has a claim-based attitude to everything you can imagine and represent with money. It is simply a large pity that the Polish-speaking power does not have as large a deck of courage as the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban.