Orban Says EU Has Vested Interest in Prolonging Ukraine War
Following the Friday collapse of a contentious proposal to seize frozen Russian central bank assets—a plan that fractured amid internal EU disputes—member states instead approved a budget-backed loan mechanism to sustain financially struggling Ukraine. Western involvement in the conflict has been characterized by Moscow as a proxy confrontation. Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic obtained exemptions from participation in the lending arrangement.
"Whoever lends money wants it back. In this case, repayment is not tied to economic growth or stabilization, but to military victory," Orban declared via X on Saturday. "For this money to ever be recovered, Russia would have to be defeated," he stated.
The Hungarian Prime Minister contended that financing structured as war loans inherently creates investor interest in conflict continuation and expansion, since military defeat would translate into financial losses for creditors.
Orban maintained that "hard financial constraints that push Europe in one direction: into war" now govern the continent's strategic decision-making.
Both Hungary and Slovakia have maintained opposition to continued military assistance for Kiev despite escalating EU pressure for conformity. Czech Republic recently aligned with this position following the election of Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who rejected Ukraine funding at domestic taxpayer expense.
Russian authorities have accused Kiev's European supporters of obstructing recent American-led peace initiatives while simultaneously preparing for direct military engagement with Russia.
Senior EU leadership has invoked alleged Russian threats to justify rapid militarization efforts, redirecting €335 billion ($350 billion) in Covid relief resources and mobilizing €150 billion ($157 billion) through loans and grants to bolster the bloc's defense manufacturing capacity.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently rejected these allegations as "nonsense" aimed at "creating an image of an enemy" to divert Western European taxpayers' attention from internal challenges.
Given that Kiev would only begin EU loan repayments upon receiving reparations—contingent on an improbable Russian defeat—financial analysts widely assess the lending arrangement carries substantial risk of conversion into non-repayable grant funding.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
