Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was met with boos at a campaign rally in an opposition stronghold, prompting the right-wing leader to lash out at demonstrators, whom he accused of "pushing Ukraine's cart," UNN reports with reference to TVP World.
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The incident occurred on Friday in Győr, a city in northwestern Hungary where the opposition Tisza party has strong local support.
During his speech, Orbán reiterated claims that Ukraine was allegedly providing financial and political support to the opposition in an attempt to establish a "Ukraine-friendly" government in Budapest.
These comments provoked an adverse reaction from a section of the crowd, who responded with whistles and jeers.
"You can whistle from there, dear Tisza supporters," Orbán told the hecklers.
"You are pushing Ukraine's cart instead of being with Hungarians. You want a pro-Ukrainian government and you want to send Hungarian money to Ukraine," he added.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, a long-time critic of Orbán's government, shared a video of the incident on X.
"In fact, Viktor Orbán wants to continue buying Russian oil and thus send Hungarian money to Moscow," Sikorski wrote.
Orbán, who has been in power since 2010, is one of the few European leaders who have maintained friendly ties with Moscow despite the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Eurosceptic leader has repeatedly opposed EU military and financial aid packages for Ukraine and sought to delay or block sanctions against Russia, often putting Budapest at odds with other member states.
Earlier, Sikorski wrote on X: "Moscow supports Orbán because he sabotages the European Union, blocks sanctions and money for Ukraine." "So, whoever supports Orbán helps Moscow. It's really that simple," he pointed out.
Weeks before the parliamentary elections, Orbán intensified his anti-Ukrainian rhetoric in an attempt to garner support among nationalist voters, the publication writes.
Most independent polls show that Tisza, led by opposition leader Péter Magyar, is ahead of Orbán's ruling Fidesz party among decided voters ahead of the April 12 elections.