Zelenskyy made the remarks during a joint news conference with Dutch PM Dick Schoof.
“Ukraine will be in the EU, with Orban or without, because that is the choice of the Ukrainian people,” he said.
“I am confident that the people of Hungary support Ukraine in any case.”
Commenting on whether this would require changes to the EU’s enlargement procedure, Zelenskyy said Kyiv and Brussels are exploring ways to advance membership talks without Hungary’s consent. He added that most member states back Ukraine’s accession and understand its geopolitical necessity.
Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine has met all technical conditions required to open the first cluster of accession negotiations. He reiterated that Ukraine is defending the security of the entire European subcontinent.
“Ukraine is fighting for its freedom and for Europe’s freedom,” he said, criticizing Orbán’s stance.
“There are so many drone attacks now against the Europeans, so many new threats…, Ukraine is sharing its experience [in countering them]. It is simply unfair to spread false narratives about Ukraine.”
On Sept. 29, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said the European Commission had completed its screening of Ukrainian legislation. The Hungarian veto remains the only obstacle to starting substantive accession negotiations.