Balazs Orban: Hungary Must Be Prepared to Counter Threats

If Hungarians decide to stand up for Hungary and refuse to yield to the demands of the Ukrainian president, Kyiv will eventually be forced to back down, according to the prime minister’s political director, Balazs Orban.

Balazs Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister's political director (Source: Facebook / Balazs Orban).

Speaking on Kossuth Radio’s Sunday morning news program, Balazs Orban said Ukraine’s demands run counter to Hungary’s national interests.

Photo: Zoltan Balogh / MTI

The political director noted that Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his pro-nation government have repeatedly made it clear that 

Hungary will not support steps that are harmful to the country.

The politician explained that Ukraine wants every European country to join the camp supporting the war—first with money and weapons, and later even with troops. Kyiv is also demanding admission to the European Union and is pushing for every European nation to sever ties with cheap Russian energy supplies.

According to Orban, Hungary’s involvement in the war would create a direct security risk, while Ukrainian EU membership would make that threat permanent and divert Hungarian taxpayers’ money to Ukraine.

Phasing out cheap Russian energy would also have serious consequences. At a time when the Middle East is unstable and Europe is facing an energy crisis, abandoning these supplies would drive fuel prices sharply higher in Hungary and make it impossible to maintain the government’s utility price reduction program for households,

he added.

Orban also said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would like to see a government in Budapest that carries out Ukraine’s demands. “He has found such a partner in the leader of the Hungarian opposition,” he said, referring to Peter Magyar. “From this point on, he is working to blackmail Hungary into changing its position.”

He added that Hungary cannot expect support from Brussels in the dispute, since European Union institutions side with Ukraine and back the Hungarian opposition leader, seeking a change of government. According to Orban, leaders in Brussels want all countries to support the war, back Ukraine’s EU accession, and cut themselves off from cheap Russian energy.

He noted that legislation has already been adopted to halt natural gas deliveries, and on April 15 a proposal targeting Russian oil is expected to be presented.

Balazs Orban stressed that Hungary is not isolated and has allies. The oil blockade affects not only Hungary but also Slovakia, and regional fuel prices matter to other countries as well.

He added that the Patriotic parties—among the most popular political forces in Western Europe—have stood by Viktor Orban.

According to the political director,

Prime Minister Viktor Orban enjoys the necessary social support, and if that backing is reinforced in the April 12 vote, Hungary will be able to stay out of the war and prevent Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

Orban said Hungary also has tools at its disposal to persuade Ukraine to reconsider its stance and allow the Hungarian economy to continue accessing the cheap Russian energy essential for its functioning. Among these tools, he mentioned Hungary’s ability to block decisions in the European Union that are important to Ukraine.

“The government is not happy to act this way,” he said, “but until President Zelensky changes course, this policy will not be altered.”

He emphasized that the government’s measures are not intended to harm Ukrainians, especially those living in Transcarpathia. While he hopes Kyiv will reconsider, he believes the conflict could persist until the election. “If Hungarians stand up for Hungary and refuse to submit to Zelensky’s demands, he will eventually have to back down,” he said.

Regarding a recent incident in which officials from Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration stopped two Ukrainian armored cash transport vehicles carrying $40 million, €35 million, and nine kilograms of gold toward Ukraine, Orban said such a large financial transfer is, “to put it mildly, highly unusual.”

He noted that this was allegedly not the first such movement and that since the beginning of the year, currency and gold amounting to roughly half to one percent of Hungary’s GDP have entered the country.

Questions remain about whether the funds left Hungary, who sent them, where they were headed, whose interests they served, and whether the Ukrainian wartime mafia—or anyone in Hungary—was involved, he said.

Orban stressed that the authorities acted correctly and that the case must be thoroughly investigated.

Addressing threats made against Viktor Orban, Hungarian athletes, and Janos Hajdu, the director of Hungary’s Counter-Terrorism Center, the political director said it is not the government’s job to be intimidated.

Instead, he said, authorities must calmly and steadily carry out their duties to guarantee Hungary’s peace and security. “Hungary must be prepared to counter threats,” he said. He recalled that Ukrainian actors have previously carried out sabotage against energy infrastructure, citing the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline. As a result, the government has strengthened the protection of key facilities.

Orban concluded by emphasizing that any Hungarian citizen in need of help or protection can rely on the Hungarian government. As an example, he said two Hungarian prisoners of war—who had been forcibly conscripted by Ukraine and later captured by Russian forces—were successfully brought home earlier this week.

Cover photo: Balazs Orban, the Hungarian Prime Minister's political director (Source: Facebook / Balazs Orban).

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