US vice chairman in Hungary calls Ukrainian chief’s ‘threatening’ remarks ‘fully scandalous’.
Revealed On 8 Apr 2026
US Vice President JD Vance has mentioned Ukraine’s prime minister made “scandalous” feedback about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as he echoed Budapest’s accusations that Kyiv is attempting to affect the upcoming elections there.
Vance’s remarks on Wednesday got here throughout a visit to Budapest days earlier than the far-right Orban, a Trump ally, faces the hardest problem of his 16-year rule in an election on April 12.
Advisable Tales
record of 4 objectsfinish of record
Hungary’s strained relations with Ukraine have taken centre stage within the election marketing campaign, with Budapest’s authorities accusing Kyiv of intentionally stopping flows of Russian oil by way of the Druzhba pipeline in an effort to sway the poll.
Kyiv says the pipeline was broken by a Russian drone assault in late January, and it’s fixing it as rapidly as it could actually.
Hungary responded by blocking a 90-billion-euro ($105bn) EU mortgage for Ukraine, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to say he may give the handle of whoever was accountable to the Ukrainian military, who may “communicate with him in their very own language”.
‘Fully scandalous’
Talking at a Hungarian college, Vance mentioned Orban had informed him about Zelenskyy’s remarks.
“It’s fully scandalous,” Vance mentioned. “It is best to by no means have a international head of presidency … threatening the top of presidency of an allied nation.”
Vance then accused the media of double requirements of their protection of alleged international interference within the 2016 US presidential election and within the Hungarian vote.
“You noticed this again in 2016 the place numerous the American media mentioned that it was a real scandal that the Russian authorities purchased like $500,000 of Fb commercials … That’s international affect,” he mentioned.
“However what’s not international affect is when the European Union threatens billions of {dollars} withheld from Hungary since you guys shield your borders… What’s not international affect is when the Ukrainians shut down pipelines, inflicting struggling among the many Hungarian individuals in an effort to affect an election.”
Budapest has been embroiled in an extended‑operating dispute with the European Union over points starting from judicial independence to the therapy of migrants.
Vance had already lambasted what he mentioned was EU meddling within the Hungarian vote at a information convention on Tuesday.
A European Fee spokesperson mentioned on Wednesday Brussels would use diplomatic channels “to convey our issues to our US counterparts” following these feedback, in response to the Reuters information company.
