Hungary Vetoes $54 Billion Aid Package for Ukraine

(DailyDig.com) – On December 15, a crucial conference broke up in Brussels because the leader of Hungary refused to provide money to support the government of Ukraine for the next four years.

Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, obstructed a $54 billion European Union assistance package intended for Ukraine. Following seven hours of fighting, EU leaders decided they would not win the approval of the Hungarian leader, and they will now address the budget in January.

Just hours after the EU’s 26 member nations defied the Hungarian leader and decided to provide a historically favorable environment for the beginning of Ukraine’s EU membership negotiations, the veto from Hungary, the closest EU ally to Russia, inflicted a setback on Kyiv and its supporters.

Leaders warned that Orbán’s veto of EU membership would severely damage Ukrainian morale and undermine the legitimacy of the union, so Orbán effectively stayed away from voting on Ukraine’s admission discussions. Orbán, according to one source, knew that they would vote in his absence; therefore, it was prearranged in that regard.

Though the other EU members isolated Orbán over Ukraine’s admission, the leaders concluded they could not pull off the financial assistance ruse for Kyiv, aware that other nations, notably the UK, had already used their veto power.

The prime minister of Hungary remained unwavering and threatened to obstruct Ukraine’s membership in the EU at a later date in the lengthy procedure that typically takes years. Orbán has maintained that since Ukraine is not a member of the EU, it shouldn’t receive such substantial funding from the budget of the EU. If Hungary continues its embargo, other leaders have informed Kiev that they might provide help to Ukraine apart from the EU budget.

The dispute over financial help comes at a terrible moment for President Zelensky of Ukraine. His country’s counteroffensive against the troops of Russia has not yielded significant results, and US President Joe Biden has not been able to negotiate a $60 billion deal for Kyiv via the US Congress so far.