Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has downplayed the claim that Hungarian drones have entered Ukrainian airspace, while also stating that Ukraine is not a sovereign state, as it depends entirely on the West, Agence France-Presse reported.
"The fact that three or four Hungarian drones crossed the border is not a problem", declared Viktor Orban, who stressed that he was "inclined to believe" to Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalai-Bobrovnicky, who denied allegations that the drones had entered Ukrainian airspace.
"Let's say they flew a few meters into the country, so what?" he added in an interview on a podcast hosted by his Fidesz party spokesman. Orban said that "Ukraine should be more concerned about (Russian) drones on its eastern border."
"Ukraine is not an independent and sovereign state, we are the ones who keep it whole, so it should not behave as if it has sovereignty," Orban said.
According to the Hungarian prime minister, "if tomorrow the West decides not to release a single forint (the Hungarian currency), Ukraine will fall apart."
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Hungarian reconnaissance drones had penetrated his country's airspace. The next day, the Hungarian Defense Ministry dismissed the allegations as "completely unfounded," AFP reported.
Tensions between Kiev and Budapest have been high since the start of the war in the neighboring country, and Orban has previously called Ukraine a vassal state. Hungary has refused to provide military aid to Ukraine and blocked its EU membership talks and the adoption of European sanctions against Russia.