Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared Ukraine lacks sovereignty, sparking a sharp response from Ukraine’s foreign minister.
Orban’s controversial remarks
Viktor Orban gave an interview to the Hungarian channel Harcosokórája, aired on September 29. When asked about Hungarian drones allegedly violating Ukrainian airspace, he stated, “Let’s say they flew a few meters. So what? Ukraine is not an independent country, Ukraine is not a sovereign country. We support Ukraine, the West supports it, we give it weapons. Ukraine should not act as if it were a sovereign state. Ukraine lost one-fifth of its territory in the war with the Russians, the Russians took it. That’s when sovereignty ended,” said the longtime ally of Vladimir Putin. He added that Ukraine would cease to exist if the West stopped supporting it.
Ukraine’s response
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha responded to Orban’s comments. “The good news is that Prime Minister Orban admitted that some drones did not actually fly into Ukrainian airspace from Hungary,” he wrote. He then addressed Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, asking, “How is your tweet about the ‘fake’ holding up? Didn’t it age well?” Sybiha continued, “The bad news is that the prime minister is still under the influence of Russian propaganda. We eagerly await his reflections on the sovereignty and independence of the state, once he frees himself from dependence on Russian energy, as repeatedly emphasized by US President Donald Trump and European partners.”
Hungary’s counter
Peter Szijjarto responded by recalling that he had previously dismissed a graphic showing the drones’ flight paths as a “fake.” He also addressed energy independence, stating, “Remember: it is our sovereign decision whom and from where we buy energy. Have we ever commented on your energy supply decisions? You shouldn’t interfere in our sovereign affairs!” Hungary has refused to abandon Russian energy imports, citing energy security. However, Volodymyr Zelensky noted that “the US is ready to fill the European market with energy resources, so no one would even have to look towards Russia.”
