Orban questions Ukraine's sovereignty, Sybiha responds

During an interview on a right-wing podcast popular with his supporters, Orban claimed that "Ukraine is not a sovereign country," Ukrinform reports, citing Reuters.

"Ukraine is not at war with Hungary; it is at war with Russia. It should be concerned with the drones on its eastern border," Orban said.

"I believe my ministers, but let's say it would have actually flown a few meters there, so what? Ukraine is not an independent country. Ukraine is not a sovereign country, Ukraine is financed by us, the West gives it funds, weapons," he added.

In a response to Orban's comments, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in a post on X that the Hungarian premier remained "intoxicated by Russian propaganda."

Sybiha described as "good news" Orban's acknowledgment that some Hungarian drones entered Ukrainian airspace.

"But the bad news is that the Prime Minister remains intoxicated by Russian propaganda. We will be eager to hear his thoughts on [Ukraine's] state sovereignty and independence once he has broken free from his dependence on Russian energy, as U.S. President Donald Trump and European partners insisted multiple times," he wrote.

Sybiha also addressed his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, regarding a post on X in which Szijjarto called a map shared by Sybha showing the flight route of a Hungarian drone over Ukraine "fake."

"Prime Minister Szijjarto, how is your tweet about 'fake' going? Did not age well?" Sybiha asked.

On September 26, Ukrainian Armed Forces radar systems recorded two overflights of drone-type objects at different altitudes over Zakarpattia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered the military to conduct a full investigation of the incident with Hungarian reconnaissance drones and respond accordingly to any repeated attempts.

Sybiha also released a map showing the route of the Hungarian drone over Ukrainian territory on September 26.

Ukrinform photos are available for purchase here.