Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, on an official visit to Belarus, avoided attributing responsibility to Russia for drones crossing Polish airspace and causing damage, a stance in line with Budapest’s longstanding reluctance to confront Moscow directly.

After a meeting of the Hungarian-Belarus Joint Economic Commission in Minsk on September 10, he posted a muted message on Facebook: "The risk of escalation in the war is growing ever more serious, and this is the moment to think and act with a cool head and sober judgment. Europe needs peace, and that is what we represent everywhere."

On the night of September 9-10, Warsaw reported that several Russian drones strayed into Polish airspace before crashing on its territory. The Polish government denounced the breach as a violation of national sovereignty, and Nato allies quickly echoed the assessment that Moscow was responsible. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that his country was "closer to war than at any point since 1945" while Nato stressed that the episode, though serious, did not constitute an armed attack under Artictle 5.

The Hungarian prime minister avoided naming Russia in his communication. In an English-language post on X, he referred to the "Russian-Ukrainian war" while expressing "full solidarity" with Poland. Roughly 30 minutes later, he issued a near-identical statement in Hungarian on Facebook, this time omitting the word "Russian" and speaking only of war.

His statement on X read: "Hungary stands in full solidarity with Poland following the recent drone incident. The violation of Poland’s territorial integrity is unacceptable. The incident proves that our policy of calling for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war is reasonable and rational."

This has triggered a response from Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorsi: "No, Victor. The incident proves you should get off the fence and condemn Russian aggression. We ask you to unblock the disbursement of EU funds for defence, approve tougher sanctions on the aggressor and withdraw your veto on starting Ukraine's EU accession negotiation."

Polish-Hungarian diplomatic relations have hit one low point after another in recent weeks.

Following Ukrainian drone attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline, Sikorski told his Hungarian counterpart that "we stand in solidarity with you as much as you do with us", before inviting Robert Brovdi, a Hungarian-born commander behind Ukraine's drone programme, to Poland, after Budapest banned him from the Schengen Zone.

The episode also follows earlier instances of carefully tailored wording when it came to Russian attacks. After drones hit a US-based factory in western Ukraine just 30km from the border with a large ethnic Hungarian minority, President Tamas Sulyok altered a social media message. He initially referred to the incident as a "Russian attack", later revising it to describe only an "attack". 

Independent media in Hungary have pointed to these omissions as evidence of the Orban's government's deliberate effort to soften references to Russia for domestic audiences.

Poland has taken an increasingly hard line against Moscow, positioning itself as one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters within Nato and the EU. Hungary, by contrast, has resisted sanctions against Russia and repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire and peace talks.

In Minsk, Szijjarto repeated Budapest’s stance that efforts to force Hungary to quit Russian energy would jeopardise the country's supply security, speaking after a meeting of the Hungarian-Belarus Joint Economic Commission in Minsk on September 10.

"We reject those efforts. Hungary's secure energy supply is a matter of sovereignty, of national interests," he asserted. Szijjarto acknowledged Belarus's "key role" in Hungary's energy security, adding that 73% of Hungary’s crude imports arrived via Belarus in 2024. Szijjarto confirmed that Hungary would provide the venue for the next World Cup qualifier matches for Belarus.