Kyiv accuses Hungary of 'helping Putin' in Ukraine war

Hungary's leader told Putin that Budapest would pay Russia in roubles for gas imports

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands in Budapest in October 2019. AFP

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Ukraine on Thursday accused its neighbour Hungary, an ally of the Kremlin, of appeasing Russian aggression and disrupting EU unity after a telephone call between leaders in Moscow and Budapest.

"Apparently, after the elections, Budapest moved on to the next step — helping [Russian President Vladimir] Putin continue his aggression against Ukraine," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

Mr Putin congratulated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban after his party won a fourth term in general elections last week.

The two leaders spoke again Wednesday and Mr Orban told Mr Putin that Hungary would be prepared to pay Russia in roubles for gas imports.

"We believe this statement of readiness to pay for Russian gas in roubles is an unfriendly position towards our state," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

"Such statements also contradict the consolidated position of the European Union."

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said later on Thursday that his Ukrainian equivalent had not contacted him and urged Kyiv to "stop insulting us".

"They ask for and wait for help while attacking and accusing us in an immoral way," Mr Szijjarto told Hungarian public TV from Brussels, where he was attending a Nato meeting.

Nato foreign ministers meet in Brussels to discuss the latest in the continuing Russia-Ukraine war. AFP

People take part in a protest against the transport of cargo to Russia and Belarus near the Polish-Belarusian border crossing in Koroszczyn, eastern Poland. EPA

A Ukrainian naval vessel, thought to be the ‘Donbas’ and a nearby building burn in the besieged city of Mariupol. AP

Bucha resident Tetiana Ustymenko weeps over the grave of her son, buried in the garden of her house, in Bucha, north-west of Kyiv. AFP

People charge their mobile phones in a public building in Bucha. AFP

People from Mariupol leave a train to be taken to temporary residences in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. AP

Vladyslava Liubarets, a Bucha resident, cries as she hugs her sister whom she had not seen since the beginning of the Russian invasion, in Bucha, the town which was retaken by the Ukrainian army. EPA

Local citizen Oleksandr, 55, looks at the grave of his neighbour in the backyard of his private house in Hostomel in Kyiv. EPA

Debris of a rocket missile on the field near Kyiv. EPA

The mother of Ukrainian soldier Lubomyr Hudzeliak, who was killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, mourns during his funeral in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP

A woman takes care of a baby at a shelter in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk in Donbas region. AFP

Residents gather outside a shelter in the city of Severodonetsk. AFP

Residents in eastern Ukraine, including the city of Severodonetsk in Donbas region, have been asked by their government to leave 'now' or 'risk death'. AFP

A young girl with her dog arrives at a centre for the displaced in Zaporizhzhia, north-west of Mariupol. AFP

A damaged ambulance in Hostomel, on the outskirts of Kyiv. Reuters

A bomb crater left behind by Russia's attack on the Ukrainian village of Demydiv, on the outskirts of Kyiv. Reuters

Russian attacks have reduced Hotel Ukraine in Chernihiv to debris. Reuters

Oleksii Shcherbo, 98, near his burnt house in the village of Sloboda, on the outskirts of Chernihiv. Reuters

Residents walk past destroyed Russian military machinery on the street, in Bucha, the town which was retaken by the Ukrainian army, north-west of Kyiv. EPA

Damaged National flags flutter in the wind on a cemetry of Chernihiv city which was blocked by Russian troops for a long time. EPA

Demonstrators lie down on the ground in tribute to the people killed in Russia's war against Ukraine, in Berlin, Germany. AP

A Ukrainian firefighter works at the site of a burning fuel storage facility ignited by an air strike, in Dnipropetrovsk. Reuters

A woman before and after she was removed by rescuers from debris after a military strike on the town of Rubizhne, Luhansk. Reuters

People wait for help to evacuate Derhachi. Reuters

Pope Francis, in Vatican, holds a Ukrainian flag given to him by a delegation from the town of Bucha, where dozens of bodies had been found. EPA

State emergency servicemen clear shells near Chernigiv, northern Ukraine. AFP

US war veteran Steven Straub shows his tattoo of the Ukrainian flag while on patrol near Buda-Babynetska, north of Kyiv, days after Russian forces retreated from the area. AFP

Candles are arranged in the shape of Ukraine by the monument to the poet Taras Shevchenko in the western city Lviv. AFP

A teddy bear hangs from a tree branch outside an apartment building in Borodyanka, Kyiv oblast. AP

A woman carries her cat as she walks past buildings that were destroyed by Russian shelling, in Borodyanka. Reuters

Dmitriy Evtushkov, 25, points to his picture in a primary school album retrieved from the rubble of a block of flats. AP

Technicians try to fix the internet in Bucha. AP

A smashed mobile phone lies next to a Russian army ration book in Bucha. AP

A woman and children after their arrival at a centre for displaced persons in Zaporizhzhia, about 200 kilometres north-west of Mariupol. AFP

A man leaves a damaged pharmacy after a bombing that killed several civilians, in Mykolaiv. AP

Ukrainian soldiers sing a patriotic song with buildings in the background that were destroyed during fighting in Borodyanka. AP

Borodyanka residents carry humanitarian aid packages. Reuters

Elderly Ukrainians shelter in a basement in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine. EPA

Destroyed apartment buildings in Borodyanka. Reuters

Relatives and friends are overwhelmed with emotions as they stand next to the coffin of Anatoly German during his funeral. AP

On Wednesday, Mr Orban said that during the call he had urged Mr Putin to implement an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, and he invited the leaders of France, Germany and Ukraine to meet the Russian leader in Budapest.

"Proposals to hold peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Budapest look cynical," Kyiv said.

"If Hungary really wants to help end the war, here's how to do it: stop destroying unity in the EU, support new anti-Russian sanctions, provide military assistance to Ukraine, and not create additional sources of funding for Russia's military machine."

The foreign ministry said Hungary had been reluctant to acknowledge "Russia's undeniable responsibility" for "atrocities," and that this could "strengthen Russia's sense of impunity and encourage it to commit new atrocities against Ukrainians".

Mr Orban had previously had one of the closest relationships to Mr Putin of any EU leader.

During his call, he restated his opposition to sending weapons to Ukraine and to the EU imposing an embargo on Russian energy imports, on which Hungary is highly dependent.