LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Hungary is holding parliamentary elections this weekend that are being watched closely by leaders in Europe and the U.S. Viktor Orban, the prime minister of the central European country, counts both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as friends, and he has focused his reelection campaign on criticizing Ukraine. Joining us to discuss all this is NPR's Ukraine correspondent, Joanna Kakissis, who's in Kyiv. Hello, Joanna.
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: Good morning, Leila.
FADEL: So why has Ukraine become such a big focus of Hungarian elections?
KAKISSIS: Well, Leila, it's not actually such a huge surprise if you know how the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, has run previous campaigns. He never seems to run against the person actually on the ballot. This year, it's Hungary's popular opposition leader, Peter Magyar. Instead, Orban frames elections as a choice between an outsider he claims wants to change the Hungarian way of life and himself. He sees himself as a protector of traditional values. In the past, Orban has focused on Hungarian American philanthropist George Soros and European Union leaders in Brussels. He claimed they wanted to flood Hungary with Muslim migrants. Now, migration was the big issue in previous elections. But this year, it's Ukraine, which is defending itself in the biggest land war on European soil since World War II.
FADEL: Right. And by Russia, and Vladimir Putin is close to Orban. So what does this campaign against Ukraine look like?
KAKISSIS: So for one thing, the face of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appeared on many posters and billboards all over Hungary. These are attack ads. They portray him as a puppet of the West, someone who wants to drag Hungary into this war. Now, the messages avoid mentioning that Russian President Vladimir Putin started this war by invading Ukraine. So that's something that is always left out of the messages. Zelenskyy has also been slammed as corrupt in this election. At the same time, you know, inside Hungary, it's Orban who's floundering because of allegations of corruption against him and because he's seen as the Kremlin's agent in the European Union.
FADEL: So all this probably hasn't helped diplomatic relations between Hungary and Ukraine. How tense is that relationship?
KAKISSIS: Well, Leila, right now it's very tense. Zelenskyy says he, for example, does not want to reopen a Soviet-era pipeline that a Russian strike damaged in January. This pipeline sends Russian gas to Hungary, and Hungary's especially angry about this because fuel prices are so high. Ukraine accused Hungarian authorities of stealing $82 million after they seized a Ukrainian bank's armored vehicle transiting through Hungary last month. And Orban is blocking a European Union loan to Ukraine that's worth roughly $100 billion. This is a lifeline to Ukraine. Without it, the country could run out of money by June. So Zelenskyy is upset about this - so upset that a month ago, he sarcastically suggested giving Orban's home address to the Ukrainian military so they could, quote, "talk to him in their own language."
FADEL: Has Zelenskyy softened his rhetoric since that?
KAKISSIS: Yes, he has. I mean, Ukraine is Hungary's neighbor. It has a Hungarian-speaking minority on the border in Western Ukraine. Zelenskyy visited this community on Wednesday.
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PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: And in a video address, he said he hoped they will explain to Hungarians that blocking this EU aid plays into Russia's hands. Zelenskyy also said he hopes relations improve if Orban loses on Sunday.
FADEL: That's NPR's Joanna Kakissis in Kyiv. Thank you, Joanna.
KAKISSIS: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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