BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥� Hungary’s pro-Russian Prime Minister accused Ukraine on Monday of seeking to meddle in his country’s upcoming elections and ordered Kyiv’s ambassador to be summoned to the foreign ministry.
The step was the latest in Orb谩n’s long-running anti-Ukraine campaign as he seeks to convince voters that the neighboring country, embroiled in a since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022, poses an existential threat to Hungary’s security and sovereignty.
Orb谩n, who has , faces what is expected to be the biggest challenge of his 16 years in power during .
With his right-wing nationalist Fidesz party trailing by double digits in most polls, Orb谩n has campaigned on the unsubstantiated premise that Hungarians would be forcibly conscripted to fight and die on the front lines in Ukraine if his party loses the election.
In a video posted to social media on Monday, Orb谩n said Ukraine’s political leaders, and 鈥渆ven the president himself, made grossly offensive and threatening statements against Hungary and the Hungarian government.鈥�
Orb谩n did not specify which statements he was referring to.
鈥淥ur national security services have evaluated this latest Ukrainian attack and determined that what happened is part of a coordinated series of Ukrainian measures to interfere in the Hungarian elections,鈥� Orb谩n said, adding he’d instructed the foreign minister to summon Ukraine’s ambassador.
As , Orb谩n in the last year has escalated a and, without providing evidence, accused his leading rival, opposition leader P茅ter Magyar, of entering into a pact with Kyiv to overthrow his government and install a pro-Western, pro-Ukraine administration.
Hungary’s government has strongly opposed European Union financial and military aid for Ukraine, and vowed that it would toward its accession into the bloc. This month, Orb谩n’s government launched what it calls a 鈥渘ational petition鈥� which it has urged voters to sign in opposition to continued EU financial support for Kyiv.
in Davos, Switzerland last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized Orb谩n, saying he 鈥渓ives off European money while trying to sell out European interests.鈥�
鈥淚f he feels comfortable in Moscow, it doesn’t mean we should let European capitals become little Moscows,鈥� Zelenskyy said of Orb谩n.
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