The Ukrainian MFA reacted to Hungaryʼs Viktor Orban statement that Ukraine is “financially non-existent”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Ukraine a "financially non-existent country" and said that as soon as Europe and the USA stop giving money to Kyiv, "the war will end immediately."

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko reacted to this. He called Orbanʼs statement cynical, stressing that Hungary receives "a lot of money" from the European Union to support the economy.

Nikolenko added that supporting Ukraine is Europeʼs investment in its own security.

"On the contrary, the Hungarian authorities should be grateful for the fact that against the background of unprecedented Russian aggression, Ukrainians are keeping a peaceful sky over Budapest and other European cities at the cost of their own lives," summed up the spokesperson of the department.

• In January 2023, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Ukraine a "no manʼs land". Then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine summoned the Hungarian ambassador.
• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Hungary has not provided military aid to Ukraine, periodically blocks the allocation of EU funds to it and opposes anti-Russian sanctions. In November 2022, the Hungarian government decided to provide $195 million in financial aid to Ukraine.
• In November 2022, Orbán was photographed wearing a scarf depicting "Greater Hungary," the territory of the former Kingdom of Hungary before the First World War. Now most of these territories are included in Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, and Ukraine. After the First World War, Hungary was left with only about 30% of the territories it had before the war. After that, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine summoned the Hungarian ambassador. Orbán said that "football is outside of politics" and the Hungarian national team is a team of "all Hungarians, no matter where they live."
• Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban stated that his country will block any European Union sanctions against Russian nuclear energy. He also said that the war in Ukraine will end when the US stops giving it weapons and funds.