Kyiv (EFE).- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Thursday Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbánto with the Ukrainian army if he continued to block the 90 billion euro credit approved by the European Union, amid tensions between both countries over oil supply.
“We hope that this person in the EU does not block the 90 billion euros, or the first installment of that amount, and that the Ukrainian military continues to have weapons. If not, we will give the address of that person to our armed forces. Let them call him and talk to him in their language,” Zelenskyy said at a public meeting with his government.
At the beginning of the meeting, attended by journalists and later published by the Ukrainian presidency, Zelenskyy addressed the Minister of Defense, Mijailo Fedorov, on Ukraine’s economic needs to continue accessing various types of armament.
Orbán has made it clear that he will block the approval of the debt issuance necessary to finance the credit to Ukraine until Kyiv restores the transit of Russian gas to Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline.
Hungary has not received oil through that route since Jan. 27, when a Russian attack damaged key pipeline infrastructure in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy criticized Orbán for blocking EU aid to Ukraine and accused him of using the oil and the aid blockage for electoral purposes.
“They are killing us, and we must give oil to Orban, because he is poor and cannot win the elections without it,” Zelenskyy said.
As of Feb. 24, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asked Zelenskyy to accelerate the restoration of infrastructure.
Orbán claimed that the pipeline is operational and that Ukrainians are suspending the transit of Russian oil for political reasons, and has demanded that Kyiv allow a team of Hungarian experts to evaluate the infrastructure.
According to the Financial Times, the EU is pressuring Zelenskyy to allow an inspection of the infrastructure.
On Thursday, Zelenskyy made statements about Orbán following Hungary’s release of two Ukrainian prisoners of war with Hungarian passports on Wednesday, after unilateral negotiations with Moscow, which provoked indignation in Kyiv.
Kyiv and Budapest have had numerous disputes since the war began. Orbán, the European leader closest to the Kremlin, has opposed arming Ukraine and imposing sanctions on Russia from the beginning.
The Hungarian leader has been campaigning and has referenced Zelenskyy for days, accusing him of interfering in Hungary’s internal affairs and trying to drag Budapest into the conflict. EFE
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