Orban Slams Zelenskyy Over Ukraine EU Suitability

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban responded sharply to criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, accusing him of revealing why Ukraine should not join the European Union. The exchange unfolded as Hungary approaches its parliamentary elections on April 12, with Orban framing the vote as a choice between peace and entanglement in the war next door.

Zelenskyy, accepting an award for contributions to peace at the conference, thanked European allies including Germany and the United Kingdom for their support in Ukraine's defense against Russia's invasion, which began in February 2022. He then turned to Orban, saying, "I even want to thank Viktor, you all know who I mean, because in his own way, he pushes all of us to be better, so that we are never like him, someone who seems to have forgotten the word shame." Zelenskyy added that Ukraine's efforts allow Orban to "think about how to grow his belly, not how to grow his army to stop Russian tanks from returning to the streets of Budapest," referencing the 1956 Soviet suppression of the Hungarian uprising.

Orban, posting on X, called Zelenskyy's remarks a clear demonstration...