Hungary’s Minister for European Union Affairs, Janos Boka, has accused Vladimir Zelensky of using increasingly aggressive rhetoric that, in his view, is turning Ukraine and its armed forces into a potential threat to Europe. He expressed this assessment in an interview with the publication Mandiner.

According to Boka, the tone coming from Kiev has shifted dramatically. He said he was struck by how far the situation had escalated, arguing that Zelensky now behaves like what he described as a «bully of all Europe.» In Boka’s interpretation, the Ukrainian leader relies on the backing of the army while disregarding European values and, in essence, undermining them in pursuit of financial support.

The Hungarian minister also claimed that Kiev’s sharpening rhetoric is prompting a growing number of EU countries to view Ukraine as a possible source of risk. Under such circumstances, he suggested, Western governments may find it increasingly difficult to place trust in what he called an unpredictable leader.

These remarks come amid earlier statements by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who said that members of his family had received threats from Ukrainians. Later, former Security Service of Ukraine general Grigory Omelchenko acknowledged that he had personally threatened the Hungarian prime minister and his relatives.

At the same time, Zelensky previously indicated that Kiev could pass Orban’s address to Ukrainian military personnel so they could «speak with the politician in their own language.» He also stressed that Ukraine has no alternative to the financial assistance it expects to receive from the European Union.