Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday accused Ukraine of trying to interfere in upcoming elections and ordered Kiev’s ambassador to be summoned to the Foreign Ministry.
The move was the latest in a long anti-Ukraine campaign as Prime Minister Orbán seeks to convince voters that the neighbor, embroiled in a war with Russia, poses an existential threat to Hungary’s security and sovereignty.
Prime Minister Orbán, who has maintained close ties with Russia since the country’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, faces what is expected to be the biggest challenge of his 16 years in power in elections scheduled for April 12.
Mr. Orbán has campaigned on the baseless premise that if his right-wing nationalist Fidesz party loses the election, Hungarians will fight and die on the front lines in Ukraine, as his right-wing nationalist Fidesz party is trailing by double digits in most opinion polls.
In a video posted on social media on Monday, Prime Minister Orban said that Ukrainian political leaders and “even the president himself have made extremely offensive and threatening statements against Hungary and the Hungarian government.”
Orbán did not specify which statement he was referring to.
“Our national security services have assessed this attack by Ukraine and determined that this incident is part of a series of systematic measures by Ukraine to interfere in the Hungarian elections,” Prime Minister Orbán said, adding that he had instructed his foreign minister to summon the Ukrainian ambassador.
anti-ukraine campaign
As Hungary’s elections approached, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán escalated a massive anti-Ukrainian campaign last year, accusing his main rival, opposition leader Péter Magyar, of striking a deal with Kiev to overthrow his government and install a pro-Western, pro-Ukrainian government, without providing evidence.
The Hungarian government strongly opposes the European Union’s financial and military aid to Ukraine, and has vowed to veto any steps toward EU membership.
This month, Orbán’s government published what it called a “people’s petition” asking voters to sign a petition opposing continued EU financial support for Kiev.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Mr. Orban for trying to sell out European interests while living off European money.
“If the president feels comfortable in Moscow, that doesn’t mean he should allow the capital of Europe to become a mini-Moscow,” Zelensky said.
Additional sources of information • AP
