The new Hungarian Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, announced on Wednesday April 15 that he was in favor of releasing financial aid of 90 billion euros to Ukraine. The amount of European aid was blocked until then by the veto of Viktor Orbán, former leader of Hungary, who was openly opposed to aid for Ukraine.
These 90 billion from the European Union will have taken time to arrive, but kyiv should ultimately benefit from it. Before his defeat in the legislative elections on April 12, former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán blocked this European aid, by vetoing it during the European Council which brought together the 27 heads of state of member countries last March.
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Relations between Hungary and Ukraine had become particularly sour, with regular tensions between Volodymyr Zelensky and Viktor Orbán. Openly pro-Kremlin, Orbán opposed European aid to Ukraine, which he accused of not repairing an oil pipeline that had been hit by Russia. He also suspected kyiv of participating in money laundering and financing, alongside Brussels, the opposition party Tisza.
It is the leader of this party, Péter Magyar, who is now the new Hungarian Prime Minister. Closer to the EU and Ukraine than his predecessor, he affirmed this Wednesday April 15 that he was not opposed to “the European loan of 90 billion euros promised to kyiv”. The release of this aid should take place during the second quarter of 2026, during June, commented Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for the Economy and former Prime Minister of Latvia.
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What is the need for Ukraine?
While Ukraine has been defending itself since February 2022 against the Russian invasion launched by Vladimir Putin, these 90 billion euros will cover around two thirds of Ukrainian financial needs and will intervene in parallel with the sanctions against Russia which will be maintained, according to Valdis Dombrovskis.
For the European Parliamentthese 90 billion euros should have several uses for Ukraine. In a press release dating from before Viktor Orbán’s veto, the European institution explains that “of this amount, 30 billion euros will be allocated to macro-financial assistance and budgetary support (Editor’s note: from Ukraine). […] The remaining 60 billion euros will be spent on strengthening Ukraine’s defense capabilities and supporting the acquisition of military equipment.”
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However, while the conflict has entered its fifth year of war since February, Péter Magyar remains particularly cautious regarding the Ukrainian issue. Although he is in favor of granting this financial aid, the new Hungarian Prime Minister is opposed to the sending of weapons and Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.
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