Huge Crowds Rally in Budapest as Orban Opposes Ukraine Influence

(MENAFN) Massive crowds filled the streets of Budapest on Sunday in support of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. The demonstration, billed as a ‘Peace March,’ carried the slogan: “We will not be a Ukrainian colony!” and attracted participants from across the country, as reported by witnesses.

The Orban administration has consistently opposed the EU’s policies of arming and financing Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, as well as Ukraine’s ambitions to join the bloc. Relations between Budapest and Kyiv have grown increasingly tense in recent months, following Ukraine’s suspension of Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia via a Soviet-era pipeline and personal threats from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky directed at Orban.

Speaking to supporters in front of the Hungarian parliament, Orban addressed Kyiv directly: “You see, Zelensky, this is the thousand-year-old state of the Hungarians. And you think you can scare us with an oil blockade, blackmail, and threats against our leaders? Be smart and…”

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, also present at the rally, claimed that Brussels and Kyiv were attempting to unseat Orban’s government “because they want Zelensky to form a government in Hungary as well.”

Images and videos shared on social media showed vast crowds waving national flags and marching through central Budapest. Demonstrators carried a large banner declaring that Hungary would not be a “colony” of Ukraine. Some participants also held placards featuring crossed-out images of Zelensky and Orban’s main electoral opponent, Peter Magyar. Magyar’s Tisza Party held a separate large rally on the same day.

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