A Polish deputy foreign minister has accused Hungary’s populist leader Viktor Orbán of “financing” Moscow’s war in Ukraine by purchasing Russian oil, amid an escalating dispute between Warsaw and Budapest.
The two sides have been exchanging diplomatic blows after Orbán accused Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk of “playing a dangerous game” with the lives of millions of Europeans.
His comments came after Tusk insisted Europe must recognize that Russia’s war in Ukraine is also “our war.”
Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum, an international conference dedicated to European and global security on Tuesday, Tusk described Moscow’s three-and-a-half-year assault on Ukraine as part of a recurring global project aimed at “enslaving nations, robbing individuals of freedom, and enabling the triumph of authoritarianism, despotism, cruelty and the erosion of human rights.”
“If we lose this war, the consequences will affect not only our generation, but also future generations—in Poland, throughout Europe, in the United States, everywhere in the world,” he warned.
However, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, known within the European Union for his Moscow-friendly stance, responded sharply on social media platform X.
“Dear Donald Tusk, you may think that you are at war with Russia, but Hungary is not. Neither is the European Union,” he wrote, adding: “You are playing a dangerous game with the lives and security of millions of Europeans. This is very bad!”
‘Please stop doing that’
Speaking to commercial broadcaster Radio ZET on Wednesday, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski rebuked Orbán, accusing the nationalist leader of financing Kremlin aggression in Ukraine by continuing to buy Russian oil.
“Dear Prime Minister, you are financing this war by purchasing Russian oil. This makes you one of only two prime ministers in Europe who are doing so. Please stop doing that – without money, the Russians will not be able to continue the war,” he said.
Hungary continues to top the EU in Russian energy imports, bringing in €416 million worth in August alone, including €176 million in crude oil and €240 million in pipeline gas, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Apart from Orbán, the other prime minister Bartoszewski referred to is Slovakia’s Robert Fico, whose government – like Hungary – continues to rely heavily on Russian fossil fuels and has opposed extending EU sanctions on Moscow.
The two leaders are among the few European politicians who have maintained close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
‘Whose side are you on?’
Meanwhile, Tusk hit back at Orbán on Thursday, reminding him on X: “Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, it is Russia who started the war against Ukraine. It is them who decided we’re living in the time of war. And in such a time the only question is whose side are you on.”
In response, Orbán wrote: “Russia is at war. Ukraine is at war. Hungary is not.
“I understand that you stand firmly on the side of Ukraine. Please understand that we stand firmly on the side of Hungary.
“You seek to win a war you believe is yours. I want to ensure that peace prevails.”
The two leaders attended an EU summit in Copenhagen on Thursday. Standing next to Tusk, Orbán said that the bloc’s military spending is much greater than that of Russia.
“We all spend more on armaments than Russia, so why are we afraid? We are stronger than them,” he said, to which Tusk responded: “I love him when he uses my arguments.”
Orbán’s spat with Tusk is his latest in a string of clashes with EU leaders. Last month, he exchanged online barbs with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson after claiming that the Scandinavian country was “collapsing” under gang violence.
Ukrainian FM fires back
On Wednesday, Orbán reiterated Budapest’s opposition to admitting Ukraine into the bloc.
“The Hungarians would not like to belong to the same integration format, even a military one like NATO, or a political-economic one like the European Union, with the Ukrainians,” he said, suggesting instead the creation of a strategic alliance with Kyiv rather than its integration into existing structures.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha shot back on X, pointing out that Ukraine already belongs to dozens of international organizations alongside Hungary.
“The United Nations, Council of Europe, WTO, IMF, CEI, EBRD, Danube Commission, OPCW, IAEA, FAO, and dozens more. Viktor Orbán, so Hungary intends to leave them all, right?” he wrote.
The Hungarian leader has repeatedly blocked or delayed steps in Ukraine’s EU accession process, claiming that Kyiv’s membership would spell economic disaster for both Hungary and the entire bloc.