Hungary’s Orbán claims Ukrainians ‘threatened’ his family as election campaign ramps up

Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has accused Ukrainians of plotting to attack his family, as an increasingly bitter standoff between Kyiv and Budapest continues.

Orbán and his allies appear to be using the dispute for maximum political gain before the election due next month that could end the 16-year rule of his nationalist government.

Orbán released a video on Wednesday night purporting to show him speaking to his daughters on the phone. “I’m sure you’ll see on the news that the Ukrainians have threatened not only me but you as well,” he said, apparently emotional. “My kids and my grandkids … We have to take this seriously but we must not be scared.”

Orbán was apparently responding to the words of Hrihoriy Omelchenko, a retired politician who served in Ukraine’s SBU security service in the 1990s. He issued threats to Orbán in a televised interview this week suggesting vigilantes could hunt down the Hungarian leader if he did not change his anti-Ukrainian position.

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy had threatened to “give this person’s address to our armed forces” while speaking about Orbán, in comments that reportedly prompted European allies to ask the Ukrainian president to tone down his rhetoric.