Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 29, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleHungary's PM Orban claims Ukraine is not sovereign amid a drone dispute, escalating tensions with Kyiv. Orban's stance contrasts with NATO allies.
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary's Viktor Orban said on Monday that Ukraine was not a sovereign country, as he hit back at accusations that Hungarian reconnaissance drones violated its airspace - the latest salvo in an increasingly bitter row between Kyiv and Budapest.
"Ukraine is not at war with Hungary; it is at war with Russia. It should be concerned with the drones on its eastern border," the Hungarian prime minister said during an interview on a right-wing podcast popular with his supporters.
"I believe my ministers, but let's say it would have actually flown a few metres there, so what? Ukraine is not an independent country. Ukraine is not a sovereign country, Ukraine is financed by us, the West gives it funds, weapons," Orban said.
In a response to Orban's comments, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X that the Hungarian premier remained "intoxicated by Russian propaganda".
In contrast to most NATO and European Union leaders, Orban has maintained cordial relations with Russia while questioning the logic of Western military aid for Kyiv, a stance which has frequently put him at loggerheads with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
On Friday, Zelenskiy said that reconnaissance drones that violated Ukraine's airspace could have flown from Hungary to check the industrial potential of western border areas.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto rejected the accusation, saying Zelenskiy was "losing his mind".
In a further sign of deepening tensions between the countries, Hungary said on Monday it was blocking access to 12 Ukrainian news sites after a similar move by Kyiv.
Earlier this month, Ukraine blocked various websites deemed to contain pro-Russian views at the request of the security services. They included eight Hungarian-language portals, among them a popular pro-government news site origo.hu.
(Reporting by Krisztina Than in Budapest and Alan Charlish in Warsaw; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
Viktor Orban stated that Ukraine is not a sovereign country and is financed by Hungary, suggesting that it should focus on the drones on its eastern border.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Orban of being 'intoxicated by Russian propaganda' in response to his remarks.
Hungary announced it was blocking access to 12 Ukrainian news sites, following a similar move by Ukraine against Hungarian-language portals.
Orban has questioned the logic of Western military aid for Ukraine, maintaining cordial relations with Russia unlike most NATO and EU leaders.
Zelenskiy mentioned that reconnaissance drones violating Ukraine's airspace could have originated from Hungary to assess the industrial potential of border areas.
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