By Staff
Hours after an agreement was reached on Ukrainian membership talks in the EU, the country of Hungary blocked 55 billion dollars in aid from reaching Ukraine. On Friday the 15th, the President of the European council claimed that all but one of the European Union’s 27 countries agreed to an aid package for ukraine. The one Country was Hungary. Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, did not agree with the aid package being sent. He claimed that the EU should wait until upcoming elections before giving more aid to Ukraine.
Viktor Orban and Hungary have a history of being an outlier in negotiations on the Ukraine/Russia War. Prime Minister Orban has previously delayed sanctions that were going to be placed on Russia. The EU claims that Ukraine is relying heavily on their aid and this money is critical in the war effort. Hungary has maintained close ties with Russia since the country left the Soviet Union in 1991. Orban is seen as one of Putin’s closest allies left in the European Union.
After eight hours of negotiations, it has been concluded that the package will be delayed but negotiations will start again in 2024. Zelensky has been desperate lately for support and aid. This new delay brought on from Hungary comes just after another blocking of 61 Billion dollars from the U.S. Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelensky. She claimed that Ukrainians are in, ‘mortal danger’, without the support of Western Allies. This new blocking of aid follows just after Putin openly mocked Ukraine for running out of free money and help from the west. Nonetheless, Zelensky appeared to be pleased that negotiations for Ukraine to join the EU were even happening. Zelensky has always been a big supporter of joining the EU, and possibly Nato. He stated that membership talks are more important to him than money. But it will be interesting to see in the coming months how bad these delays will affect Ukraine and their efforts against Russia.
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