On Sunday, August 24, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga strongly responded to the remarks of his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó. According to him, no one, not even Hungary, has the right to tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky what to do or when to speak.
“No one will dictate to the President of Ukraine what decision to make, when to speak, and what thoughts to express. He is not the president of Hungary, but the president of Ukraine,” Sibiga wrote on the social network X.
This dispute arose after Zelensky’s statements during the celebration of Ukraine’s 34th Independence Day. The Ukrainian president hinted that the strikes on the “Druzhba” oil pipeline were directly linked to Hungary’s position on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union. “We have always supported friendship between Ukraine and Hungary. But now the fate of ‘Druzhba’ directly depends on Hungary’s position,” Zelensky said.
Budapest, however, took this statement as a threat. Péter Szijjártó responded: “Zelensky used the national holiday to threaten Hungary. We strongly reject such intimidating remarks from the President of Ukraine.” He also called on Zelensky to “stop attacks on Hungary’s energy security.”
Thus, the tension between Kyiv and Budapest has once again escalated. According to experts, this situation could become a new point of crisis in Ukraine–European Union relations. Observers and the public are closely watching how this confrontation between the two states will end.
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