Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán arrives at the EU summit in the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, June 26, 2025. AP Photo/Omar Havana
The statement of Viktor Orbán is reported by the Hungarian HVG publication
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán commented on the drone incident near the Ukrainian-Hungarian border. Although the incident itself was officially denied by Budapest, Orbán expressed the view that Ukraine is not sovereign.
“Ukraine is not sovereign”
The question is not whether two, three, or four Hungarian drones flew by. Suppose they flew a few meters; what next? Ukraine is not an independent, sovereign country; we support Ukraine, it should not act as if it were sovereign
In his remarks, Orbán stressed that Ukraine can expect support from Europe, but at the same time warned: the West may reduce financial assistance. “If the West tomorrow decides not to give a single forint (Hungary’s currency), Ukraine may shut itself off. This is not something Ukraine should have to worry about” – said the head of government.
If the West tomorrow decides not to give a single forint (Hungary’s currency), Ukraine may shut itself off. This is not something Ukraine should have to worry about
On September 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian forces had recorded incursions of reconnaissance drones into the airspace; according to Kyiv, these could have been Hungarian aircraft intended to gather data on the industrial potential of border regions. Hungary denied the reports and stressed that it had not received confirmations from Ukraine and continues to maintain contact with the Ukrainian side.
On September 27, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga published an image of a map with the route of the Hungarian drone, which, Kyiv says, could have crossed the border. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Hungary has not provided military aid to Ukraine and blocked military and financial support from the EU. In August 2025 it became known that Hungary blocked more than 6 billion euros from the European Peace Facility.
The Hungarian government filed a lawsuit with the Court of Justice of the European Union against the Council of the European Union over the use of frozen Russian assets to provide financial aid to Ukraine in 2025. It also blocked the opening of negotiation clusters for Ukraine’s accession to the EU since the beginning of 2025, arguing that Ukraine’s membership would be a burden for both the bloc and Hungary.
Context and Implications for Regional Policy
This series of statements regarding Ukraine’s sovereignty underscores the complexity of the relationship between Budapest and Kyiv in the areas of security and EU financing. While Hungary officially states its support for Ukraine, its stance on financial aid and EU membership prospects remains a source of tension in its dialogue with Kyiv and European partners.
This background signals that regional cooperation projects require clear mechanisms for mutual understanding and a rethink of financing strategies to reduce risks to security and stability in Eastern Europe and in Ukraine itself.
Useful reading:
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asserts Hungary’s sovereign right to decide its energy policy, rejecting US pressure to stop importing Russian oil amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
- Belarus proposes building a new nuclear power plant to supply electricity to Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, raising regional energy security and geopolitical concerns.
- A drone explosion near South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant raised nuclear safety concerns, with no damage to the plant or injuries reported.
