Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry reacts to insults against Zelensky by Hungarian parliamentarian

Kever made the statements in a recent interview with Hungarian media. He was commenting on President Zelensky’s latest appeals for aid from Ukraine’s allies.

"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 said.

Read also: Ukraine irked by Hungary’s continued friendliness with Russia

In turn, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said such accusations were based on the pro-Kremlin position of a number of Hungarian politicians, who "persistently continue to throw mud at Ukraine and whitewash the crimes of the Russian Federation."

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is waiting for the publication of a certificate on the state of the mental health of the Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament Laszlo Kever. Further assessment of the words of Mr. Kever directly depends on the conclusion recorded in the certificate,” Nikolenko wrote on his Facebook page.

He posted a similar comment on Twitter.

Nikolenko also said that such loyalty to the Russian Federation did not surprise him, "after all, historically, Hungary has more than once oriented itself towards the side of evil."

While Hungary's President Katalin Novák has officially condemned Russia’s aggression, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and some other Hungarian officials have opposed increased sanctions pressure on the Kremlin regime.

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In particular, Budapest has long been blocking an EU oil embargo against the Russian Federation. Orbán said it would jeopardize energy security and called the new sanctions package a "historic mistake."

In the end, the EU imposed only a partial ban on Russian oil imports, making an exception for pipeline supplies – the means by which Hungary takes delivery of the Russian oil it buys.

Read also: Russia to lose about $10 billion a year through oil ban – Bloomberg

Besides that, Hungary has opposed sanctions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who has openly supported the Kremlin’s aggression.

In addition, Hungary banned the transportation of defensive weapons to Ukraine through its territory.