Ukraineʼs Foreign Ministry called on Hungary to “stop demonizing Kyiv and Zelensky”

Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of advocating the establishment of a puppet government in Budapest. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called for a halt to "demonizing" Kyiv.

This is stated in a statement by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Heorhii Tykhyi.

"The communication line of the Hungarian authorities, which demonizes Ukraine and President Zelensky, has gone off the rails. Where it is necessary to be principled, the Hungarian authorities are silent. And where it is necessary to look for points of contact, they throw baseless accusations," said Heorhii Tykhyi.

Tykhyi added that Hungary baselessly accuses Ukraine of not wanting peace, but does not criticize Russia. Therefore, in such conditions, the words of the Ukrainian side "lead to nervous, escalating and simply unfair reproaches from the Hungarian authorities".

"We are truly convinced that good-neighborly relations between Ukraine and Hungary are critically important for both countries. We are responsible for all issues of the Hungarian side regarding the rights and opportunities of the Hungarian national minority in Ukraine. However, good-neighborliness must be mutual," the spokesman emphasized.

Tykhyi also called the Hungarian authoritiesʼ bet on the "primitive demonization" of Ukraine "losing and short-sighted":

"We expect that the search for imaginary enemies will someday pass, and the good-neighborliness of the two peoples will remain."

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an interview to the Hungarian publication Válasz Online. He said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is using the topic of the war in Ukraine for his own political gain.
• Commenting on the interview, Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said that Zelensky is “openly campaigning for the Hungarian opposition party “Tisa” and “fawning” over European elites. He also said that “tough anti-Hungarian propaganda” is being carried out in Ukraine, and Zelensky allegedly wants to establish a puppet government in Hungary.

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