Hungarian–Ukrainian bilateral relations took another major blow as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Hungary of violating Ukraine’s airspace with reconnaissance drones near the border. ‘Preliminary assessments suggest they may have been conducting reconnaissance on the industrial potential of Ukraine’s border areas,’ Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X last Friday.
The Hungarian government was quick to reject the accusation. On Friday, the Ministry of Defence stated that the Hungarian Armed Forces had not conducted any drone flights in the region, adding that until Zelenskyy’s post there had been no official notification of such an incident from the Ukrainian side—raising suspicion over Kyiv’s claim. ‘Hungary had already reinforced its eastern airspace defenses months earlier,’ wrote State Secretary Zoltán Kovács, adding that ‘the ongoing Adaptive Hussars 2025 exercise, held under NATO’s framework, is playing a central role in strengthening border security and ensuring military readiness.’
The story developed over the weekend as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha shared a map allegedly showing the route of the drone incursion. ‘Our Armed Forces have gathered all the necessary evidence, and we are still waiting for Hungary to explain what this object did in our airspace,’ Sybiha wrote in a post on X on Saturday, mocking Hungarian officials as ‘blind’.
Speaking at a press conference on 27 September, Zelenskyy warned that Hungary was engaging in a ‘very dangerous thing’, first of all ‘for themselves’, stating that Ukrainian Armed Forces and intelligence services had presented evidence to counter Budapest’s claim.
Reacting to what appeared to be a direct threat—not the first since the outbreak of the war—Prime Minister Viktor Orbán urged Zelenskyy to ‘stop harassing us,’ adding that Budapest is a member of NATO and the EU, whose support keeps Ukraine from total collapse.
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó denounced Zelenskyy’s accusation in a post on X on Friday, stating that the Ukrainian president was ‘losing his mind’ to his ‘anti-Hungarian obsession,’ seeing things that ‘are not there.’ Responding to the supposed evidence—the map Sybiha shared on social media—Szijjártó claimed that it was ‘fake’ and said the Ukrainian foreign minister should not discredit himself by engaging in such a smear campaign against Hungary.
Tensions between the two neighbours were already high, as Ukraine has repeatedly attacked the Druzhba oil pipeline—a key route for Russian oil into Hungary. Hungary is among the few EU member states that still openly import oil from Moscow, along with Slovakia, since its geographical position leaves limited alternatives. Just last week, Zelenskyy and his European allies tried to push US President Donald Trump to pressure Hungary into cutting off all Russian energy imports. However, after a phone call with Orbán, Trump sided with Budapest, stating that it was not Hungary’s fault that it remained dependent on Moscow’s supplies.
Hungary is also the only EU member state blocking Ukraine’s fast-track accession process, citing security and economic consequences. The governing party Fidesz has further accused the leading opposition Tisza Party of collaborating with Ukrainian security services to undermine Prime Minister Orbán’s government.
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