World leaders, politicians, and activists rushed to the defence of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy openly threatened him.
‘Solidarity with my friend and patriot @PM_ViktorOrban, who has always been on the front line in defending the freedom and rights of his citizens and of patriots across Europe,’ Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini wrote in a post on X. Highlighting his concerns and condemnation over ‘interference and threats from foreign countries’, Salvini said he would soon be in Budapest, representing Italian patriots, ‘to express closeness and support’ for Orbán.
Speaking on Thursday, Zelenskyy said that he hopes Orbán will not block the €90 billion EU loan to Kyiv, otherwise ‘we will give the address of that person to our armed forces, and let them call him and speak with him in their own language.’
Orbán reposted Zelenskyy’s statement, saying that the remarks ‘are not about me’, but that Zelenskyy is ‘threatening Hungary.’ ‘Unfortunately for him, he cannot stop me from protecting Hungarian families,’ Orbán declared.
In a post on X, former president of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik described Zelenskyy’s statement as ‘not merely an act of disregard for national sovereignty, but an overt act of hostility’, which he said he ‘condemn[s] in the strongest possible terms.’
‘Hungary and Prime Minister Orbán have demonstrated time and again that they stand on the side of peace and on the side of life,’ Dodik continued, adding that Orbán’s stance ‘clearly troubles those who are prepared to sacrifice the lives of others in the service of their own power.’ ‘Republika Srpska will always stand alongside its friends. And Hungary and Viktor Orbán are proven and steadfast friends of ours,’ Dodik concluded.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also expressed solidarity with Orbán in a post on X.
In a surprising turn of events, the European Commission also condemned Zelenskyy’s remarks directed at Orbán. Spokesman Olof Gill said on Friday that the Commission believes ‘this kind of rhetoric is neither useful nor constructive from either side in terms of our shared objectives.’ ‘Specifically regarding President Zelenskyy’s remarks, the European Commission clearly considers them unacceptable. EU member states must not be threatened,’ he added, noting that Brussels is in dialogue with both parties on the matter.
NATO, however, has yet to comment on Zelenskyy’s statement.
The right-wing European Parliamentary group Patriots for Europe (PfE)—co-founded by Orbán—also issued a statement on the matter, stressing that ‘threats or suggestions of physical intimidation have no place in political discourse.’
Dutch conservative political activist Eva Vlaardingerbroek likewise condemned Zelenskyy’s remarks, stating that ‘this should be an immediate ground for the EU to suspend all support for Ukraine’ and never to even as much as ‘consider EU membership again’.
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