Hungary rejects Zelensky’s claim of drone airspace violation
Hungary denied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that Hungarian drones violated Ukraine’s airspace, with FM Peter Szijjarto calling it “phantoms,” as bilateral ties remain strained over pipelines, minorities, and EU accession.
Budapest: Hungary has firmly rejected a claim by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Hungarian reconnaissance drones may have violated Ukraine’s airspace.
Zelensky wrote earlier on X that Ukrainian forces had recorded violations “by reconnaissance drones, which are likely Hungarian,” adding that preliminary assessments suggested the flights may have targeted border industrial areas.
Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto strongly denied the allegation. Writing on Facebook, he said Zelensky “is losing himself in anti-Hungarian sentiments” and “is chasing phantoms.”
Relations between Budapest and Kyiv have been strained in recent years. Hungary has repeatedly criticised Ukrainian attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline, a key route for its Russian energy supplies, and raised concerns about the rights of the ethnic Hungarian minority in Ukraine’s Transcarpathian region, Xinhua reported.
Hungary has also opposed Ukraine’s EU accession, citing the need for stronger guarantees on minority rights and warning about the negative impact on the EU’s agricultural subsidy system.
Despite these disputes, Hungary has provided humanitarian assistance since the war began in February 2022, including opening its borders to refugees and setting up a Ukrainian-language school for children displaced by the conflict.