Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is intensifying efforts to depict Ukraine as an enemy amid the election campaign, exacerbating already strained relations between the two countries.
The relationship between Kyiv and Budapest has long been fraught due to the Kremlin-friendly policies of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has continually obstructed Ukraine's integration into the European Union and hampered its access to a €90 billion loan from the EU. Moreover, Hungary has resisted new sanctions against Russia, further complicating its ties with Ukraine. Recently, these relations have reached a new low, attributed to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary, scheduled for April 12, where Orbán has made vilifying Ukraine and criticizing President Volodymyr Zelensky a central theme in his campaign.
