Hungary on Friday stopped the European Union from giving Ukraine a $55 billion aid package mere hours after the bloc reached an agreement allowing membership talks to begin. In what he termed a “summary of the nightshift” on X, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán boasted of his “veto for the extra money to Ukraine.” Kyiv remains dependent on European and American funding in its ongoing war against Russia. Orbán, regarded as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest European ally, was the only one of 27 European leaders to oppose the new aid package. Although he has also opposed Ukraine joining the EU, he left a negotiating room as 26 other leaders voted on the matter Thursday, effectively abstaining. The group also approved opening membership talks with Moldova and granted candidate status to Georgia.
