Hungarian Prime Minister has indicted Ukrainian President citing Golden Illusion.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attacked what he called the “golden illusion” of Ukraine as a $100 million corruption scandal involving the state nuclear energy company rocks the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Orban, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, has long broken with European allies on the Russia-Ukraine war and has clashed with Zelensky repeatedly. He has argued against Ukraine joining the European Union, as it is on course to do, and accuses Brussels of fueling a war it should be stopping. Budapest also has warm relations with Moscow.

Ukrainian corruption has been a major concern of the U.S. under the Trump administration and a focal point of criticism targeting Zelensky. The latest scandal threatens to further undermine American public support for Ukraine and trust in Zelensky’s leadership, as well as imperil the vital U.S. support for its defense against the Russian invasion.

“The golden illusion of Ukraine is falling apart“, Orban, a hard-line conservative facing a tough election battle next year, wrote on X. “A wartime mafia network with countless ties to President [Zelensky] has been exposed“.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine conducted a 15 months investigation named “Operation Midas” into an alleged kickback scheme that shook down Energoatom’s contractors for between 10% and 15% of the contract’s value, else face having their services or products blocked or the loss of supplier status. About $100 million was allegedly stolen.

Two of Zelensky’s senior ministers, for energy and justice, have resigned over the scandal and said they would defend themselves over any accusation. The co-owner of Zelenksy’s production company fled the country after he was accused. Five people were initially detained by the authorities, and another seven were implicated in the scheme. Among those suspected of involvement in the scheme were current and former government officials, including a former Deputy Prime Minister.

“This is the chaos into which the Brusselian elite want to pour European taxpayers’ money, where whatever isn’t shot off on the front lines ends up in the pockets of the war mafia. Madness“, Orban continued on X. He added: “Thank you, but we want no part of this. We will not send the Hungarian people’s money to Ukraine. It can be put to far better use at home: this week alone we doubled foster parents’ allowances and approved the 14th month’s pension. Anyhow, after all this, we certainly won’t give in to the Ukrainian president’s financial demands and blackmail. It’s high time Brussels finally understood where their money is really going“.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has pushed back against Orban’s criticism.

“Lectures about corruption from a politician who is embroiled in corruption scandals and has made his country the poorest in the EU? No, thanks“, wrote Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responding directly to Orban on X.

Zelensky: ‘Must Be Maximum Integrity’. Zelensky has called the corruption “absolutely unacceptable” and has sanctioned two individuals who were implicated.

“There must be maximum integrity in the energy sector, in absolutely all processes“, Zelensky said in a statement shared on social media. “I support, and the Prime Minister supports every investigation carried out by law enforcement and anti-corruption officials. This is an absolutely clear and consistent position for everyone“.

The Ukrainian President has further added, “Right now it is extremely difficult for everyone in Ukraine enduring power outages, Russian strikes, and losses“, the Ukrainian leader continued. “It is absolutely unacceptable that, amid all this, there are also some schemes in the energy sector“.

Team Maverick