Psychological duel: who set Ukraine up against Orban
Фото: Reuters
Relations between Kyiv and Budapest have become hostage to the personal antipathy of the leaders and domestic politics. At the same time, public outbursts by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are becoming a convenient pretext for new attacks by the Hungarian government.
This opinion was expressed on the air of “Pryamoy” by Vadym Denysenko, the head of the analytical center “Dilova Stolytsia”.
“Zelensky’s statements are a kind of catalyst for Orban’s anti-Ukrainian statements in the home stretch of the election campaign in Hungary,” the studio guest noted, pointing to the mistakes of Ukrainian diplomacy.
In his opinion, the Hungarian Prime Minister has been building campaigns for years to demonize fictional opponents, who used to be Soros’ structures and now Ukrainians, which is why about 60% of Hungarian society currently has a persistent negative attitude towards Ukraine.
According to the political scientist, the psychological confrontation between Zelensky and Orban resembles the conflict between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko, where emotions often prevail over pragmatism. To correct the situation, a long-term reset of relations through cultural and people’s diplomacy, involving the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia, will be needed, Vadym Denysenko is convinced.
As a reminder, some EU countries and the European Commission are asking Ukraine to provide access to the damaged section of the Druzhba oil pipeline. According to one European official, Ukraine scored an “own goal” by giving Hungary a pretext to block a multi-billion loan.
At the same time, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that Ukraine was blocking oil transportation through the Druzhba pipeline and threatened to resume the process by force . According to him, Hungary has the political and financial tools to force Ukraine to “lift the blockade.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed the opinion that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban may be defeated in the upcoming parliamentary elections, after which Kyiv and Budapest will have the opportunity to restore full-fledged relations.
In turn, the editor-in-chief of the publication “European Truth” Serhiy Sydorenko criticized Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. During the briefing, the president expressed hope that “one person in the European Union” would not block a multi-billion dollar loan for Ukraine, otherwise the Ukrainian military would be given her address.
The European Commission later criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s remarks about Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Brussels said that such statements about EU member states are unacceptable.
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