Ukraine’s Zelensky meets Hungarian minority as Orban faces key election
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Ukrianian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) taking questions during a visit to Ukraine's western Zakarpattia region on April 9.
PHOTO: X/@ZELENSKYYUA
- Zelensky visited Ukraine's Hungarian minority, praising their support amid strains with Hungary over EU aid and Kyiv's membership bid.
- Ukraine is using internal funds to rebuild damaged power plants and strengthen air defences, while seeking to unblock EU support.
- Hungary is blocking a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine, demanding the resumption of Russian oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline.
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KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Hungarian minority in western Ukraine on April 9, three days before a key election in Hungary – the most Russia-friendly country in the European Union.
The Hungarian presidential election presents a challenge to the 16-year rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who traded barbs with Mr Zelensky and has blocked both EU’s funds for Ukraine and Kyiv’s application to join the 27-nation bloc.
Ukraine is home to a small Hungarian minority, most of whom live in the western Zakarpattia region and hold dual citizenship.
Many ethnic Hungarians have left Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022, according to the local authorities.
“Today, I commended our Hungarian community for helping with defence,” Mr Zelensky said on social media, after visiting Zakarpattia, a region bordering Hungary and Slovakia
“All our communities – and the Hungarian one in particular – are helping displaced persons and relocated businesses,” he continued.
In another post, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine had begun using its own funds to rebuild power plants damaged by Russian strikes and new air defence installations to prevent another bombing campaign knocking out the energy infrastructure next winter.
“For now, we are relying on internal resources but we are working with our partners to unblock this key support package,” Mr Zelensky said, adding: “Time must not be wasted.”
Hungary is blocking a €90 billion (S$134 billion) EU loan package to Kyiv, putting an immense strain on Ukraine’s finances as it battles the Russian invasion.
Hungary, one of the very few EU countries still buying Russian fossil fuels, has signalled it will block the loan until Ukraine allows Russian oil to transit its country again via the Druzhba pipeline.
The pipeline has been shut since January, when Ukraine said it was damaged in a Russian drone attack.
In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin released two Ukrainian-Hungarian prisoners of war after appeals from Mr Orban, in a further sign of rapprochement between Moscow and Budapest. AFP
