Ukraine was prepared to repair the pipeline to unblock a €90 billion EU loan vetoed by Hungary.
“We hope a certain person in the EU will not keep blocking the 90 billion … and Ukrainian soldiers will have weapons,” Zelenskyy said.
“Otherwise, we will give the address of this person to our armed forces, our guys. Let them call him, speak with him in their own language.”
Hungary’s parliamentary elections are on April 12, and Orbán risks defeat by his rival, Péter Magyar of the pro-EU Tisza party, who led by eight percentage points in polling last month. Orbán has made Russia’s war on Ukraine a campaign focus, accusing Kyiv of delaying repairs to the Druzhba pipeline, and claiming the opposition conspires with Brussels and Kyiv to block Hungary’s access to cheap fuel.
Ukraine has stated the pipeline was damaged by shelling but seems hesitant to let Moscow continue earning oil revenues from the EU.
“We will win. We have political and financial tools, and with these we will compel them as soon as possible to reopen the Friendship oil pipeline,” Orbán vowed, adding English subtitles and heroic music to his speech on X.
Veronika Melkozerova contributed to this report.
Leave a Reply