Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that Ukrainians allegedly threatened him and his family. This happened against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Kyiv and Budapest ahead of the parliamentary elections in Hungary.
This was reported by The Guardian.
Orbán posted a video of himself talking on the phone with his daughters. In it, he said that Ukrainians had allegedly threatened not only him but also members of his family.
This was likely the Hungarian prime minister’s response to a statement by former Ukrainian politician Hryhoriy Omelchenko, who suggested in a television interview that volunteers could go after Orbán if he didn’t change his anti-Ukrainian stance.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking about Orbán, said that he could “pass on this person’s address to our armed forces.” According to reports, after these words, European allies asked the Ukrainian president to soften his rhetoric.
Amid the escalating dispute between the countries, Orbán blocked further EU sanctions against Russia and an additional €90 billion loan for Ukraine.
Last week, Hungarian anti-terrorist police detained a convoy of two armored vehicles belonging to Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank and seven Ukrainians accompanying it. The convoy was transporting tens of millions of euros in cash and 9 kg of gold bars from Vienna to Kyiv.
Ukraine stated that this was a routine transport of funds, about which the Hungarian authorities had been notified. Budapest, on the other hand, suggested that the money could have been laundered.
The detained Ukrainians were held without communication for more than 24 hours, after which they were taken to the border with Ukraine and deported. The money and gold remained in Hungary.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga called Budapest’s actions “state terrorism.” His Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó, called the accusations “quite pathetic” and questioned the origin of the transported funds.
Parliamentary elections in Hungary are scheduled for April 12. According to polls, Orbán may be trailing his rival Péter Magyar by about 20 points.