Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sharply rebuked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the latter made further demands towards EU leaders and member states during the first day of the NATO summit in The Hague on Tuesday, June 24th.
Orbán warned on X that Ukraine’s fast-track EU membership—that the EU institutions are striving for—would “drag the EU into conflict.” He wrote:
“Accepting a country that is at war with Russia would immediately drag the EU into a direct conflict.
It is unfair to expect any member state to take this risk.”
Orbán emphasised that the EU’s founding mission—peace and prosperity—must not be compromised by moral pressure .
After meeting EU and NATO leaders, Zelensky urged the EU to accelerate Ukraine’s integration and bolster military cooperation, adding that “it is unfair when a single party blocks the Union’s decision.”
Just days earlier, Hungary and Slovakia vetoed the EU’s 18th sanctions package on Russia. They argued the energy‑focused measures—aimed at phasing out Russian gas and oil—would threaten their national interests and energy sovereignty, undermining affordable supply.
