Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused Ukrainians of plotting to attack his family, escalating a bitter dispute between Budapest and Kyiv as Hungary’s parliamentary elections approach. In a video released on Wednesday, Orbán appeared emotional while speaking to his daughters, warning them that Ukrainians had threatened not only him but also them. He urged them to take the threats seriously but not to be scared.
The comments follow remarks by Hrihoriy Omelchenko, a retired Ukrainian politician and former SBU officer, who suggested vigilantes could target Orbán if he did not change his anti-Ukrainian stance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier said he would “give this person’s address to our armed forces” in reference to Orbán, prompting European allies to ask him to moderate his language.
Orbán, the most pro-Russian leader in the EU, has intensified his anti-Ukraine campaign as polls show him trailing challenger Péter Magyar by up to 20 points before next month’s elections. Tensions flared after Ukraine said repairs to an oil pipeline damaged in a Russian drone attack would take weeks, disrupting Russian oil supplies to Hungary. In response, Orbán vetoed further EU sanctions on Russia and an additional €90bn loan for Ukraine.
Last Friday, Hungary’s anti-terrorism police impounded a convoy of two armoured cars belonging to Ukraine’s state savings bank, Oschadbank, and arrested seven Ukrainians accompanying it. The convoy was transporting tens of millions of euros in cash and 9kg of gold bars from Vienna to Kyiv. Ukraine said it was a normal government cash transfer, but Hungary alleged money laundering. The seven men were held incommunicado for over 24 hours before being deported; the money and gold remain in Hungary.
Lóránt Horváth, the men’s Hungarian lawyer, called the procedure unlawful, particularly the denial of legal assistance. One diabetic detainee was taken to hospital after being “forcibly injected with a drug”, according to Ukraine’s foreign ministry. Horváth said he had no information about a forcible injection but was denied access to his clients. Ukraine accused Hungary of “state terrorism”, while Hungary’s foreign minister dismissed the claims as “pathetic”.
