Orban's rival arrives in Kyiv days after Russian attack
Hungarian opposition leader Peter Magyar arrived in Kyiv on July 11 following a recent Russian attack on Ukraine.
Magyar's visit takes place days after Russian forces launched a missile strike on the capital on July 8, killing 34 and injuring over 120 others. One Russian missile directly struck the Okhmatdyt children's hospital.
The opposition leader said he was planning to visit the hospital and deliver humanitarian aid. Magyar's Tisza party raised about 15 million forints ($41,000), he noted.
After arrival, Magyar paid respects to fallen Ukrainian soldiers on Mykhailivska Square.
"(I'm) in Kyiv, at the memorial wall of tens of thousands of Ukrainian victims of the war," Magyar said on Facebook, sharing photos.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Kyiv for the first time since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion July 2.
During his visit, Orban put forward a ceasefire proposal, which was rejected by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Hungary's head of government arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin later the same week.
Orban reacted to the strike on July 9 but did not mention that the hospital was hit by Russia, citing "the brutality of the Russia-Ukraine war."
Under Orban's leadership, Budapest has remained the most Kremlin-friendly country within the EU. Orban has repeatedly obstructed aid for Ukraine and opposed Kyiv's NATO and EU accession.
In early June, Magyar said his party shares the position of the Hungarian government not to send the country's troops or weapons to Ukraine but supports Kyiv's right to self-defense.
Kateryna Denisova
