Ukraine summons Hungarian ambassador

Ukraine has summoned the Hungarian ambassador to protest against the Hungarian government's plan to conduct a national petition against the EU sending the $800 billion requested by Ukraine to the country, which further icreases tensions with Hungary, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Péter Szijjártó said in a Facebook video.

The government's latest communication weapon, a "national petition", was announced at the government briefing on 15 Janury by Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Prime Minister's Office. Gulyás justified this campaign by saying that Brussels has "war plans."

The “national petition” is being organized despite the fact that it was less than a year ago, in March 2025 that the government launched an “advisory poll” on Ukraine’s EU accession. Although the results are not legally binding, (similarly to the often-used national consultations), the government aggressively advertised it throughout the country, using every platform imaginable to convince people to fill it in.

When speaking about Kyiv summoning the Hungarian ambassador, Szijjártó called it a "very rude" interference in Hungary's internal affairs. He added that they will carry on with the national petition regardless of how the Ukrainians protest and how many times they summon the Hungarian ambassador.

He added that the Ukrainians also announced that they would impose restrictions on Hungarian government officials' travel and visits to Transcarpathia, (in Western Ukraine, where most of the country's Hungarian ethnic minority lives – TN) which he considers to be contrary to European values and rules and sees as yet another anti-Hungarian move.