Orban said he respects Zelensky, but accused him of a "mistake"

He said this in an interview with the Polish TV channel wPolsce24, WP Wiadomosci reported.

Orban stressed that in international relations he is always guided by the principle of respect, and this applies to Ukraine as well.

He is the president of Ukraine elected by Ukrainians. I always try to behave properly, which is necessary if you want to have good relations. Therefore, I respect President Zelensky, but I believe that he has made mistakes," he said.

In particular, Orban believes that one such mistake was Zielenski's alleged rejection of his proposal to make peace with Russia back last year.

He rejected my interpretation that time was playing in favour of the Russian side, but today we have what we have. President Zelensky's situation is not an easy one. It is very difficult to unite a nation that is in a hopeless war," the Hungarian prime minister said.

Hungary blocks Ukraine's European integration

We will remind, Hungary continues to block the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU. Prime Minister Orban systematically provokes anti-Ukrainian sentiment in his country - earlier he was at the centre of a scandal when he allegedly failed to point out Ukraine on the map.

In addition, the new draft budget of the European Union, which envisages more than 100bn euros to support Ukraine, provoked a harsh reaction from Budapest. First Orbán personally criticised it, and then the Hungarian Foreign Ministry joined him. Hungary, which receives significant subsidies from the EU budget, opposes the allocation of funds to Ukraine.