Zelensky urges EU to bypass Hungary’s ‘blackmail’ veto on vital US$103 billion loan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday urged the European Union to overcome a veto by Hungary on a €90 billion (US$103 billion) loan vital for his country.Zelensky, during a visit to Madrid to meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, said he considered that the “main issue” of an EU summit to be held Thursday and Friday in Brussels.“We are really counting on the countries and the EU to find ways to resolve this issue,” he said.Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in the EU – has been blocking the EU loan to Kyiv, in part because of a pipeline that supplies his country with Russian oil that has been closed in Ukraine.The Druzhba oil pipeline between Hungary and Russia is seen at the Hungarian MOL Group’s Danube Refinery in Szazhalombatta on May 18, 2022. Photo: ReutersUkraine has said the Druzhba pipeline was damaged by Russian strikes in January. The EU on Tuesday said it had offered to send European experts to help repair the conduit.Zelensky, who had previously called Hungary’s position “blackmail”, said in Madrid that “it is unfair” that the loan was being held up, as it was agreed before the end of 2025.