Orban doesn’t give up: wanting to help Trump, he blocks the EU loan to Kyiv — Politico

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is refusing to approve the extension of sanctions against Russia, which complicates the allocation of loans to Ukraine using frozen Russian assets. This stance could also benefit the U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, should he win the election, allowing him to withdraw from financing Kyiv.

This information was reported by the European publication Politico, citing sources.

EU member states vote every six months on extending sanctions against Russia. In October, EU ambassadors agreed on a mechanism to allocate a loan to Kyiv worth €35 billion ($50 billion), backed by revenues from frozen Russian assets. To ease the burden on European countries, the U.S. is willing to join in financing Kyiv, but only if the sanctions against Russia are extended for three years instead of six months.

However, this proposal has faced resistance from the Hungarian leader, who opposes changing the European approach toward the frozen assets of Russia’s Central Bank until after the U.S. election results are announced.

“We are putting pressure on him, but Orban hasn’t budged yet,” an unnamed European diplomat told the media.

According to Politico, Orban’s decision may be motivated by a desire to support the Republican candidate Donald Trump, whom he considers an ally. Trump, the former U.S. president, has previously announced his intention to stop unconditional aid to Kyiv if he is re-elected.

In light of Orban’s position, the current U.S. administration is considering reducing its financial support for Ukraine. Meanwhile, many European countries are unwilling to cover the U.S.’s reduced share, as they face budget deficits themselves, the publication notes.

It’s worth mentioning that most of the sovereign assets of Russia’s Central Bank, frozen in 2022, are held in EU jurisdictions, amounting to approximately €220 billion. The European Commission’s actions to expropriate revenue from these sovereign assets are based on a regulation adopted in January 2024, which claims that revenues from reinvesting frozen assets are not the property of Russia. However, most experts, both in Russia and internationally, consider this claim legally invalid.