by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Europe Bureau Chief reporting from Budapest, Hungary
KIEV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Lingering tensions between Hungary and neighboring Ukraine escalated into a verbal war Monday, with Budapest accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of threatening its energy security after his forces attacked the Druzhba (”Friendship”) pipeline in Russia.
Further angering Budapest was Zelenskyy’s suggestion Sunday—with a touch of irony—“that recent strikes on the pipeline may have been tied to Hungary’s stance on Ukraine’s European Union accession.”
“We have always maintained ‘Friendship’ [Druzhba in Ukrainian and Russian]. Now the existence of the Druzhba [pipeline] depends on Hungary,” Zelenskyy stressed.
He spoke on Ukraine’s Independence Day, when people remember the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine adopted by the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) on August 24, 1991.
This act followed a failed coup attempt in Moscow and ended Ukraine’s status as part of the Soviet Union.
CONDEMNING REMARKS
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó swiftly slammed the remarks, accusing Ukraine in a Facebook post of launching attacks “against the security of Hungary’s energy supply” and warning that the attacks could be interpreted as “attacks against sovereignty.”
“An illegitimate explanation for the violation of our sovereignty is a war we have nothing to do with,” Szijjártó wrote, calling on Zelensky to “stop threatening Hungary” and “stop risking” the country’s energy security.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha fired back on social media, insisting that Budapest cannot dictate Kyiv’s actions.
“You don’t need to tell the Ukrainian President what to do or say, and when,” Sybiha posted on social media platform X. “He is the President of Ukraine, not Hungary. Hungary’s energy security is in your own hands,” Sybiha added: “Diversify and become independent from Russia, like the rest of Europe.”
Hungary has long been critical of the war in Ukraine. It has declined to support Kyiv militarily at a time when it is heavily dependent on Russian oil and natural gas.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Official results confirmed Monday that Socialist Party candidate António José Seguro won Portugal’s presidential election with 66.7 percent of the vote, defeating André Ventura of the right-wing nationalist Chega (“Enough”) party.
Despite what advocates describe as decades of persecution, discrimination, and insecurity, Pakistan’s Christians remain steadfast in their faith and committed to peaceful coexistence, a leading Christian rights advocate said Friday.
Pakistani Christians on Friday condemned a suicide bombing during weekly prayers at a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad that killed at least 31 people and injured 169 others in what officials described as the deadliest attack on Pakistan’s capital in more than a decade.
A single citizen tip ignited Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, a sweeping, week-long human trafficking operation that rescued nearly 20 children, uncovered residential brothels, and led to more than 600 arrests across California, authorities said this week.
Europe reeled Sunday after newly released U.S. Justice Department files detailing the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s global contacts shook royal houses and governments, triggering resignations, investigations and political fallout across several European countries.
The Trump administration announced it will no longer abide by the expired New START nuclear arms agreement, arguing the treaty fails to restrain Russia’s expanding arsenal and excludes China’s rapidly growing nuclear forces, according to a senior State Department official.
Hungary’s main opposition leader is demanding answers over 650 billion forints ($2 billion) in disputed funds linked to foundation structures created by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), branding the case “the world’s biggest bank robbery.”