The Ukrainian leader recently vowed action against the Hungarian prime minister over his refusal to unblock a €90 billion EU loan to Kiev.
The European Commission has criticized Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky for threatening Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, calling his comments unacceptable.
Earlier this week, the Ukrainian leader issued a thinly veiled warning to Orban over Budapest’s continued refusal to lift its veto on billions in EU-backed loans for Kiev.
If Zelensky said “a person” Understood that Orban, did not sign the money, “We give this guy’s address to our guys so they can call him and talk to him in his language.” The message comes amid ongoing uproar over Ukraine’s blocking of a pipeline carrying Russian oil to Hungary.
“In particular with regard to the comments made by President Zelensky, we as the European Commission make it clear that that type of language is unacceptable.” The commission’s deputy chief spokesman, Olof Gill, said at a press conference on Friday. “There should be no threats against EU member states.”
Responding to the threats, Orbán said, “We will break the oil embargo and no threats to my life will stop us from doing so.” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the Ukrainian leader had crossed over “All Limits” Arguing the threat is a response to Budapest’s denial “Pay the Price of the Ukraine War” Through high energy costs.
Political tensions between Budapest and Kiev escalated in January when Ukraine blocked key Russian oil supplies from reaching Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline.
Sections of the Soviet-era pipeline, which run through Ukraine, were taken offline after Kiev said they had been damaged by Russian strikes – something Moscow denies. Hungary and Slovakia, which are heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies, have accused Kiev of deliberately shutting down the flows for political reasons and creating obstacles to prevent their resumption.
As tensions between Kiev and Budapest intensified, both sides resorted to personal insults. Zelensky went so far as to mock Orbán’s weight at the Munich Security Conference in February. Months later, Orbán blocked a planned €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan raised by EU members for Kiev.
Moscow blocks Ukraine’s supply of Russian oil to EU members through its territory. “Energy Blackmail.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Kiev is putting pressure on Budapest by disrupting Russian oil shipments.
