Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for providing “specific support” to Russian President Vladimir Putin by blocking Kyiv’s ambition to join the European Union.
The deadlock has prevented both Ukraine and Moldova, which are informally coupled, from opening the first cluster of accession talks, fuelling anger and frustration.
“I don’t think that I have to offer something to Viktor Orbán,” Zelenskyy said, in an interview via videolink with Euronews CEO and editorial director Claus Strunz at the Euronews’ EU Enlargement Summit.
“I think that Viktor Orbán has to offer something for Ukraine, which is protecting the whole Europe from Russia, and even now, during this war, we did not get any support from him, support of our vision of life,” he added.
“We wouldn’t like that Viktor would support Russia because blocking Ukraine in the EU is the very specific support by Viktor of Putin. And that is definitely not that good, in my opinion. That is my subjective opinion.”
The Hungarian veto officially began in July last year, when Budapest took over the rotating presidency of the EU Council. The blockage triggered outrage among other member states, who see accession as a future security guarantee for Kyiv.
The row escalated this year after Orbán convened a national consultation to gauge Hungarian citizens’ views on Ukraine’s EU membership application. He has since used the negative results as a “mandate” to justify his veto.
A plan to tweak the voting rules to mitigate the veto power fell flat last month. “The pressure is great,” Orbán said in Denmark, acknowledging the calls from his fellow leaders. “We need all our strength to stay out of this war.”
Orbán’s filibustering has inspired informal talks about reducing the veto power of new EU members and implementing a so-called “probation period”.
But during the Euronews summit, Zelenskyy appeared unconvinced by the untested idea, insisting that membership must be fully fledged and work on an equal footing.
“We have at the same table equal countries in spite of the size of their territory or their population. It’s important that they share similar values,” he said.
“In my opinion, you cannot be a semi- or demi-member of the EU.”
‘Those are the rules’
Despite mounting pressure from other capitals, Budapest has stood its ground, prompting speculation that the obstruction will only be lifted after the country goes to vote in April 2026. Opinion polls show Orbán trailing behind opposition leader Péter Magyar.
Asked whether he would try to repair his personal relationship with Orbán or wait for the election results, Zelenskyy refused to take a side.
“I don’t think that anyone has the right to influence the choice of the Hungarian people and the elections in Hungary,” Zelenskyy said. “That is their personal right, and I don’t want to have anything in common with that.”
The Ukrainian president stressed diplomacy should be above “personalities” and that leaders should “have the opportunity to respect each other”.
He then urged Orbán to follow the European Commission’s assessment, which concludes that Kyiv has met all legal and technical criteria to open the first cluster of talks.
“We are at war for our survival, for our lives, and we wouldn’t like any other front lines, even without weapons, any political front lines open (with) other neighbours,” he said.
“We would really like the prime minister of Hungary to support us, at least not to block us,” he added.
“If there are the rules and we comply with them, whatever is needed to open the clusters, we would like to be respected. And it’s not only the respect for us, but the respect of the Hungarian leader for the rules and regulations of the European Union, as Hungary is a member of the EU. Those are the rules.”