Zelenskyy threatened to give Ukrainian troops Orbán's phone number if the EU's €90bn aid package is blocked. Hungary called it a death threat, as the two countries clash over the Druzhba pipeline shutdown ahead of April elections.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sparked a sharp diplomatic row with Hungary after remarks directed at Prime Minister Viktor Orbán about giving his phone number to Ukrainian troops to have a conversation with him.
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The remarks have been condemned in Budapest as a death threat, adding fresh tension to an already fraught relationship between the two countries.
The exchange comes as Hungary prepares for parliamentary elections in April, with Ukraine's EU accession bid and relations with Kyiv emerging as a main campaign issue.
At the heart of the dispute is the Druzhba oil pipeline, which was struck in a Russian attack in late January and has remained out of service since. Hungary and Slovakia are the last two EU member states still importing significant volumes of Russian oil via the route.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday, Zelenskyy addressed the standoff with Orbán directly.
"Hopefully, no one in the EU will block the €90bn tranche to arm Ukrainian soldiers. Otherwise, we'll give our troops that person's phone number and let them speak to him in their own language," Zelenskyy said.
Budapest interpreted the remark as a threat against the prime minister's life. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó denounced the statement in unusually strong terms.
"It goes beyond all bounds that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has practically threatened Prime Minister Viktor Orbán with death. Hungary cannot be blackmailed, no matter how they threaten it," Szijjártó said at a press conference.
Opposition leader Péter Magyar, Orbán's main challenger ahead of the April vote, also condemned the remarks.
"The Ukrainian president threatened Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. No foreign head of state can threaten anyone, not a single Hungarian," Magyar said at an election rally.
Zelenskyy rules out pipeline repairs
Zelenskyy also used Thursday's press conference to make clear that Ukraine has no intention of repairing the Druzhba pipeline.
"Ukraine can repair the Friendship oil pipeline in a month or a month and a half, although it sees no technical or safety reason to do so," he said. "I will be frank: my position, which is shared with European leaders, is that I would not repair the pipeline."
Zelenskyy added that, while Russia continues to wage war against Ukraine, he has no interest in facilitating Russian oil deliveries. On Wednesday, he had said repairs would only be possible during a ceasefire.
Orbán ruled out any compromise. In a post on X, he said: "There will be no deals, no compromise. We will break the Ukrainian oil blockade by force. Hungary's energy will soon flow again through the Friendship pipeline," without elaborating on how.
Last week, Orbán ordered soldiers and police to guard Hungary's critical energy infrastructure, citing fears of a Ukrainian attack.
Hungary has also blocked a €90bn European Union aid package for Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of political blackmail over the pipeline shutdown.