Zelensky issues military threat to Orban

RT
Thu, 05 Mar 2026 14:23 UTC

© Ruptly

Volodymyr Zelensky

The Ukrainian leader has taken aim at the Hungarian PM over his refusal to lift a veto on billions in EU loans for Kiev.

Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has issued an apparent military threat to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the ongoing refusal by Budapest to lift a veto on billions in loans underwritten by EU members for Kiev.

Orban last month blocked a planned €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan raised by EU members for Kiev - following the bloc's failure to agree on outright stealing billions in Russian assets frozen in Belgium. Orban took the step in response to Ukraine preventing key Russian oil supplies from reaching Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline.

Speaking on new weapons for Kiev's armed forces on Thursday, Zelensky stated:

"We hope that one person in the EU will not block the €90 billion... Otherwise, we will give the address of this person to our armed forces, to our guys, so that they call him and communicate with him in their own language."

The diplomatic dispute between Hungary and Ukraine has escalated in recent weeks, spilling over into personal barbs. Zelensky launched a string of attacks against Orban, including fat-shaming him during the Munich Security Conference last month.

The Hungarian prime minister has long opposed Ukraine's push to join the EU, and has repeatedly refused to send it weapons or approve EU military aid, calling for diplomacy instead.

Orban, meanwhile, has taken to social media to issue his own warning.

"There will be no deals, no compromise. We will break the Ukrainian oil blockade by force," he wrote on X on Thursday, adding that oil will soon flow to Hungary again through the Druzhba pipeline.

The Soviet-era pipeline, part of which runs through Ukraine, went offline in January after Kiev claimed it had been damaged by Russian strikes - accusations Moscow denies. Hungary and Slovakia, both heavily reliant on Russian energy, have accused Kiev of deliberately cutting them off for political reasons and inventing obstacles for restarting oil flows.

Zelensky has issued threats against foreign leaders and officials before. Last year, he suggested that Russia's top officials should check for bomb shelters, hinting that Ukraine could target the Kremlin. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the comments "irresponsible."

Comment: Hungary will block every EU decision on Ukraine over 'oil blockade':

Hungary is ready to block all EU decisions that are important to Ukraine in response to Kiev's "oil blockade" of supplies from Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has warned.

The Druzhba oil pipeline, part of which runs through Ukraine, went offline in January after Kiev claimed it had been damaged by Russian strikes - accusations Moscow denies. Hungary and Slovakia, both heavily reliant on Russian energy, have accused Kiev of deliberately cutting them off for political reasons and inventing obstacles for restarting oil flows.

Orban stated on Wednesday that Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky has openly vowed to prevent Russian energy from reaching the EU, and suggested that any facility relying on Russian supplies could now be a target for "Ukrainian sabotage actions."

The Hungarian prime minister announced that the national armed forces have been deployed at 75 locations across the country to guard energy infrastructure, recalling that the Nord Stream pipeline "was also blown up by the Ukrainians."

According to Orban, new satellite intelligence shows that Druzhba remains in full working order. "We demand that Zelensky allow our inspectors to enter Ukraine and make it possible to examine the pipeline," he said.

Ukraine has reportedly rejected a proposed EU mission to inspect the pipeline.

Orban said Budapest will not give in to "Ukrainian blackmail," vowing to "dismantle the oil blockade" and to use Hungary's veto power in Brussels for as long as necessary. "Until the situation is resolved we will block every European Union decision that is important to Ukraine," he said.

Last month, Orban placed a double veto on EU initiatives, blocking Brussels' planned €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan for Kiev, as well as the bloc's 20th package of sanctions on Russia. The EU has called for a total ban on Russian energy by 2027, despite some bloc members remaining heavily reliant on Russian crude.

While hosting Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto at the Kremlin on Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that Moscow is a reliable supplier of energy. "We have always fulfilled all our obligations and, of course, we intend and are ready to do so in the future," Putin said.