Hungary's top official claims Zelenskyy has 'mental problems', Ukraine condemns comments

Hungary's parliament Speaker Laszlo Kever criticised the Ukrainian President's way of asking for help from his allies amid the ongoing war with Russia. Kever said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's way of harshly asking for help from his partners shows he has "mental problems". "Statements by the president of Ukraine are sometimes strange. Usually, those who need help ask for it politely persistently, but ask, not demand or threaten. One usually threatens enemies, not those they want to have as friends. There is a personal mental problem here," Kever told Hungarian newspaper 444.hu.

The speaker also expressed concerns for Ukrainian Hungarians after the war, stating that extreme caution is required to ensure that the Hungarian minority does not have to leave the country altogether. Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk condemned Kever's remarks and also the stance of Budapest on Ukraine in general. "The whole democratic world is surprised and misunderstood not by the statements of President Zelenskyy, but by the position of Hungary, which persistently continues to water Ukraine and whiten Russia," he wrote in a Facebook post. 

Hungary to support oil embargo on Russia if nation's concerns are addressed: PM Viktor Orban

Further, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it is waiting for "Kever to publish a certificate on the state of his own mental health." Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban earlier stated that he will only support the sixth round of sanctions against Russia if the issue of oil supplies to his country is resolved. He had said that his concerns are about the oil pipeline that runs through Ukrainian territory. Notably, a major portion of Russian oil is shipped through tankers to the European Union (EU) nations. However, one-third of the deliveries pass through the Druzhba pipeline, one branch of which runs through Ukraine.

Zelenskyy urges world to provide more weapons to Ukraine

It is pertinent to mention here that the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate and entered its day 102nd on Sunday, June 5. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has urged the world to provide more weapons to Kyiv to combat Russian aggression. Several countries across the world have provided humanitarian and military support to Ukraine and also imposed numerous sanctions on Russia since the onset of the war. 

Image: Twitter/@vasyl_tsupa/AP