Zelenskyy warns Hungary not to block €90bln EU loan for Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that if Hungary blocks a proposed €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine, he will publicly give the address of Hungary’s prime minister to Ukrainian soldiers.

Speaking about the need for advance payments for fighter jets such as the JAS 39 Gripen and the Rafale, Zelenskyy said Ukraine hopes the funding will not be halted by a single EU member state.

“We hope that one person in the European Union will not block the €90 billion, or at least the first tranche, so that Ukrainian soldiers have the weapons they need,” Zelenskyy said.

“Otherwise, we will give that person’s address to our armed forces – to our boys – so they can call and speak to him in his own language,” he added.

The proposed funding agreement was signed by the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola and would allocate €90 billion in loans to Ukraine for 2026–2027 to support the country’s stability during the war.

However, Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has blocked the financing. Budapest has demanded that the loan be approved only after Ukraine resumes the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline.

In response, António Costa, the President of the European Council, called on Hungary to stop what he described as “blackmail” and to comply with the EU’s joint decision to support Kyiv.