The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized Orban in a video message and called him the only politician in Europe who continues to support Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Zelensky, Kyiv did not ask Budapest for specific help to confront Russia, but “didn’t even get what everyone else is doing.” “We didn’t receive the vital transit of defense assistance, we didn’t see moral leadership,” he said (quoted from Liga.net)
“The whole of Europe does not want the battlefield to be moved from Mariupol to Budapest, or from Kharkov to Krakow, or from Chernigov to Vilnius. <...> Why, then, is the official Budapest opposed to the whole of Europe, to all civilized countries? For what?” Zelensky asked.
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At the end of March, the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Peter Szijjarto, said that the country would not allow the supply of weapons to Ukraine through the territory of Hungary, which, according to the minister, Zelensky called for. Szijjártó, like Orbán, stressed that Hungary would not interfere in the conflict: “For us, the security of Hungary and the Hungarian people is above all.” The prime minister supported the head of the Foreign Ministry and said that Budapest defends national interests and acts only on its side.
Putin announced the start of a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, at the same time he warned other countries from trying to intervene in the conflict, promising that “Russia’s response will be immediate and will lead you to consequences that you have never experienced in your history.” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, for his part, warned that convoys with foreign weapons for Ukraine would become “legitimate targets” for the Russian military.