The European Union will announce €100 million in winter energy aid in Kyiv
Initially, EU leaders planned to arrive on the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion with an agreed €90 billion loan package for Ukraine and new tough sanctions against Russia. However, Hungary blocked the relevant initiatives over the weekend, so the current visit is taking place without final decisions on these issues.
On Monday, during a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, Hungary refused to lift its veto on the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia. Viktor Orbán's blockade arose from a dispute over the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. According to the publication, this disappointed European officials, as they had to travel to Kyiv with only symbolic statements of support.
At the same time, the EU is optimistic that the differences, primarily regarding the loan, will be resolved.
The plan involves clarifying with the Ukrainian side the timing of repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline, which was damaged by Russian strikes. Once oil supplies are restored, the EU intends to seek approval of the package of agreements from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Regarding sanctions, Brussels admits that it may take more time to reach an agreement, but expresses confidence that this will happen.
António Costa told reporters that it is unacceptable for a member state not to respect and implement decisions agreed at a European Council meeting. He added that sooner or later the loan will be approved. Earlier, Costa warned Hungary that failure to comply with the December agreement on the loan would mean a violation of the principle of sincere cooperation between member states.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga stressed that Ukraine is ready to act constructively and has already proposed several realistic solutions to resolve the oil dispute. At the same time, he questioned Viktor Orbán's motives, mentioning the upcoming elections in Hungary and accusing him of demonising Ukraine for political gain. Sibiga called on Budapest to stop dragging Ukraine into Hungary's internal politics.
According to him, Kyiv has repeatedly proposed a direct meeting between Viktor Orbán and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to defuse tensions. However, according to Sibiga, there has been no response to this proposal, only public ultimatums and blackmail.
