The deal was held up by Hungary for months due to Kiev’s suspension of Russian oil supplies
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, Rome, Italy, April 15, 2026. © Massimo Valicchia / NurPhoto via Getty Images
A
€90 billion ($106 billion) EU loan to Ukraine that was the focus of a
months-long stand-off with Hungary is set to be disbursed on Thursday,
according to media reports.
EU ambassadors approved the move on
Wednesday, paving the way for a formal sign off by 27 member states,
Reuters said citing a spokesman for the Cypriot presidency in the bloc.
The green light came shortly after Ukraine reportedly
resumed deliveries via the Soviet-built Druzhba oil pipeline, as
demanded by Peter Magyar, the incoming Hungarian prime minister.
Viktor
Orban, the outgoing head of the Hungarian government, froze the
disbursement of the Ukrainian funding in retaliation for the halting of
the deliveries in January. He called it a politically motivated ploy
aimed to support Magyar’s party in the April 12 parliamentary election.
The EU is also poised to adopt a 20th package of sanctions against
Russia, with Slovakia and Hungary, the recipients of Druzhba crude,
expected to drop their opposition. Orban and Slovak Prime Minister
Robert Fico are critics of Brussels’ economic warfare strategy, arguing
that it hurts EU members more than Russia and has no effect on the armed
conflict between Kiev and Moscow.
Orban and Ukrainian leader
Vladimir Zelensky had an increasingly acrimonious relationship as the
date of the election in Hungary drew closer. Zelensky infamously
threatened the prime minister’s life, earning a rebuke from Magyar.
After
his party won a landslide victory, Magyar indicated that there would be
no full U-turn on Ukraine under his government. Among other things, he
said Budapest will not be sending weapons to Kiev and will not
contribute to the €90 billion scheme, which is required
to keep the Ukrainian government running. Hungary, Slovakia and the
Czech Republic had opted out of servicing the loan that was originally
approved by the European Council in February.
The European
Commission proposed the arrangement after its original push to bankroll
Kiev by stealing frozen Russian sovereign assets failed to overcome
resistance by some member states, particularly Belgium, where most of
the funds are immobilized.