Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Friday accused Ukraine of trying to influence Hungary’s April 12 election, telling protesters in Budapest that a pro-Ukraine Hungarian government would not emerge after the vote. The accusation was made during a demonstration outside Ukraine’s embassy that drew several hundred people and that Hungary’s ruling party figures joined, as tension between the two countries has sharpened amid a broader feud over access to Russian oil delivered through a pipeline crossing Ukrainian territory.
Szijjártó spoke to the crowd after he alleged that Ukraine and the European Union were coordinating with Hungary’s opposition to stop Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline, according to the Associated Press account of his remarks. Demonstrators shouted at times when he said Ukraine was working to bring in a leadership more favorable to Kyiv.
He also framed the issue as a matter of national security for the election campaign, saying in his speech, “This is something that will not happen in Hungary. There will be no pro-Ukraine government, and Hungary will not have a pro-Ukraine prime minister,” as he addressed the protest. He added that “Ukraine is fighting for itself, not for us and not in place of us, so we owe absolutely nothing to Ukraine,” the same report said.
The protest took place the same day Hungary detained seven Ukrainian state-owned bank employees and seized two armored cars carrying some $80 million in cash, actions Kyiv denounced as illegal hostage taking. The Associated Press report linked those developments to the wider Ukraine-Hungary breakdown over energy shipments, describing how Ukraine has said Russian drone strikes damaged Druzhba’s infrastructure and that repairing it could expose technicians to risks from further attacks.
Oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline have been interrupted since Jan. 27, according to the report. Hungary’s government has accused Ukraine of deliberately holding up supplies of Russian crude and said it planned strong countermeasures until oil flows resume, keeping the dispute centered on the pipeline crossing and not on the election’s campaign logistics alone.
Ahead of the April vote, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has tied his campaign to warnings that Ukraine poses an existential threat, while he has maintained close relations with the Kremlin. The Associated Press account said Orbán had called Ukraine Hungary’s “enemy,” accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of seeking to provoke an energy crisis to sway the election, and previously ceased diesel shipments to Ukraine, vetoed a new round of EU sanctions against Russia, and blocked a major 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) loan for Kyiv in retaliation for the disruption in oil shipments.
Orbán also has deployed military forces to energy infrastructure sites in Hungary, the report said, accusing Ukraine of plotting disruptions. The government’s messaging reflects the broader picture described in the account: despite trailing in most polls behind a center-right challenger, Orbán has presented the election as a test of whether Hungary can avoid a crisis tied to its dependence on Russian energy.
Szijjártó’s comments also came after he traveled to Moscow on Wednesday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, seeking guarantees that Hungary would continue to receive Russian oil and gas despite interruptions tied to the war and other disruptions. On Friday, Szijjártó said Ukraine had placed Hungary under an “oil blockade” intended to assist Orbán’s challenger before the vote, adding that “They know precisely that if there is a crisis in Hungary’s oil supply … it is bad for the government,” as the Associated Press report quoted him.