Orbán warns of Ukrainian mafia threat to EU

During the interview, Orbán claimed that 80% of banking fraud originates from Ukraine. He also described Ukraine as a dangerous state that should not be admitted into the EU.

As noted by HVG, the first 23 minutes of the broadcast were dedicated to Ukraine, the EU, and international affairs, while domestic issues concerning Hungarians and Hungary received only about 7 minutes of attention from the Prime Minister.

Orbán slams Ukraine

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched a sharp attack against Ukraine, calling it a dangerous country that should not be allowed into the European Union.

When asked about banking fraud during a radio interview, Orbán emphasized that everyone who has a bank card is at risk. According to him, Hungarians consider themselves very honest, but the reality is different.

"We are a trusting, good-faith people - it's easy to deceive us," he said.

Orbán pointed out that it's not speculators being targeted, but ordinary people. Thus, according to him, every year, 8 billion forints are stolen from people, of which the authorities have returned only 1.5 billion.

During the conversation, the Prime Minister stated that 80 percent of the scammers are Ukrainians. At the same time, he described these criminals as "sophisticated" and "clever."

"Ukraine is a dangerous country," he added.

As a result, the Hungarian Prime Minister argued that Ukrainians should not be accepted into the European Union, explaining that if they are, it will become harder to combat Ukrainian fraudsters.

Survey on Ukraine's accession to the EU

Earlier this year, Orbán initiated a domestic survey asking Hungarians whether they support Ukraine’s EU membership. At the same time, anti-Ukrainian propaganda became increasingly prevalent in the country.

On April 22, Orbán personally participated in the survey and publicly voted against Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

According to the Prime Minister, 1.6 million Hungarians have already voted in the survey.

Orbán noted that Ukraine's admission to the European Union would be a tragedy.

"Millions of Hungarians will feel it. There is crime and mafia there," Orbán said.

He also claimed that Ukrainian workers pose a threat to Hungarian jobs because they would be willing to work for lower wages.

While he acknowledged that Hungary can cooperate with Ukraine, Orbán stressed that, in his view, Ukraine should not be granted the same rights as EU member states. Instead, agreements with Ukraine should be made on a sectoral basis, separately for each issue, in a way that benefits both Hungary and the European Union.

Orbán actively supports anti-Ukrainian position

It is worth noting that this year, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán launched a large-scale anti-Ukrainian campaign.

RBC-Ukraine published an article detailing why the topic of Ukraine has resurfaced in Hungarian politics and what risks this escalation poses for Ukraine.

Yesterday, May 29, Orbán again spoke out against Ukraine's membership in the EU. He stated that he wants peace in Europe, and Ukraine allegedly stands in the way of this.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi later explained that Kyiv is working hard with Budapest to resolve all bilateral issues.