Hungary on collision course with EU over Ukraine

Hungary appeared on a collision course on Wednesday with fellow European Union members over Ukraine’s bid to join the bloc, a dispute that could hold up Kyiv’s membership drive and was set to overshadow an EU summit.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban reaffirmed his opposition to offering neighbouring Ukraine fast-track accession at this week’s summit, saying to parliament this would not serve the interests of Hungary or the 27-member EU.

With both sides digging in their heels, Ukraine’s hopes of securing much-needed financial and military assistance to continue fighting Russian invasion forces were left hanging in the balance.

“Our stance is clear. We do not support Ukraine’s quick EU entry,” Mr Orban, a conservative nationalist who is Russian president Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the EU, said in a post on Facebook.

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Mr Orban and fellow EU leaders began arriving in Brussels late on Wednesday for the summit, which formally opens on Thursday.

Mr Orban has threatened to block proposals to allow Kyiv to start accession talks and receive substantial financial and military aid from the EU budget.

Kyiv wants to join the EU and build alliances with the West, while €50 billion of economic support and €20 billion for Ukraine’s military would be vital for its war effort.

Speaking in Brussels, new Polish prime minister Donald Tusk called Orban a “very pragmatic politician” and said he would seek to find a way to win him over.

“Apathy on Ukraine is unacceptable,” Mr Tusk said, adding that he will try to convince “some member states” of the need to help the country.

In an apparent rebuke to Hungary, German chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier said there needed to be more decision-taking by qualified majority in the EU to prevent single nations from having a veto on issues such as accession.

[ The Irish Times view on the European Council: The EU cannot be blackmailed by Hungary ]

“National parliaments would still have the final say, but a single country would no longer be able to block every single step,” he told German politicians.

In a move likely to ease tensions, the European Union executive unlocked Budapest’s access to €10 billion of funding previously frozen over concerns Mr Orban had damaged democratic checks and balances.

Ukraine is worried that western military support may be dwindling nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, and president Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Washington this week to try to press Kyiv’s case for more aid.

He said during a visit to Oslo that Kyiv had done what was asked of it on the path to EU accession talks, and that Hungary had no reason to block Ukraine’s accession drive.

“From our side we have been very constructive. We have done absolutely everything, we completed the recommendations of the European Union,” Mr Zelenskiy said.

A senior EU diplomat said a way would be found to get funding to Ukraine and circumvent any block on the part of Hungary.

“One way or another, we will find the way to give Ukraine money. There are various options,” the diplomat said, including a possible side deal by 26 EU members outside the bloc’s main budget framework.

Russia’s second missile assault on Kyiv this week injured at least 53 people, damaging homes and a children’s hospital, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday.

The windows of residential apartment blocks were blown out and frightened residents streamed out on to the street to assess the damage. Missile debris blew a large crater in the ground and destroyed parked cars.

Ukraine’s air defence systems intercepted all 10 ballistic missiles that targeted the capital at about 3am local time, Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram app.

“Just yesterday, [US] President [Joe] Biden and I agreed to work on increasing the number of air defence systems in Ukraine. The terrorist state demonstrated how important this decision is,” Mr Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram, referring to Russia.

[ A world preoccupied by a burning Palestine suits Putin’s purpose ]

Falling debris caused injuries and destruction in four of Kyiv’s districts along the Dnipro River, which cuts through the capital, officials said. Thirty-five buildings were damaged, according to the city’s military administration.

Ukraine’s national police said 53 people, including six children, had been injured by the attack. Eighteen people have been hospitalised, it said in a social media post.

Ukraine’s Armed Forces General Staff identified the projectiles as Iskander-M ballistic missiles, as well as S-400s – extremely fast missiles intended for air defence but which have also been used to hit ground targets.

Kyiv military administration chief Serhiy Popko said 17 people, including seven children, had been evacuated from a residential building in the Dniprovskyi district after debris hit a building and nearby cars, causing a fire.

There was no comment from Russia about Wednesday’s attack, which also damaged buildings in Kyiv’s Desnyanskyi, Darnitskyi and Holosiivskyi districts.

Both Moscow and Kyiv deny targeting civilians in the nearly 22-month-long war that Russia launched against its neighbour in February 2022. – Reuters

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