Hungarian PM warns of Europe set to prolong, escalate war over Ukraine

Hungary will oppose the confiscation of Russian assets frozen in the West for use in military aid to Ukraine at the EU summit on December 18–19 in Brussels, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said, warning that Europe is intent on prolonging and even escalating the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Writing on his X account, Orban accused EU leaders of attempting to wage an economic war against Russia, Caliber.Az reports.

This week will be shaped by the #EUCO in Brussels. We are preparing as well. The Hungarian Parliament’s Consultative Body on EU Affairs will meet shortly.

The stakes are clear: war or peace. Never have we been this close to ending the Russia–Ukraine war. Europe stands at the… pic.twitter.com/wFLRny0pW1

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) December 15, 2025

“The stakes are clear: war or peace. Never have we been this close to ending the Russia–Ukraine war. Europe stands at the gate of a historic opportunity, because the war that we Europeans have been unable to bring to a close for four years may soon be ended by the Americans. All we need to do is support them,” he wrote.

However, he warned that there were some indications suggesting the opposite.

“Europe wants to continue the war, and even to expand it. It wants to keep it going on the Russia–Ukraine front line and expand it into the economic hinterland by confiscating frozen Russian assets. This step amounts to an open declaration of war, one that will be met with retaliation from the Russian side,” Orban said.

He clarified that Hungary does not support the confiscation of frozen Russian assets, will not send money or weapons to Ukraine, and will not participate in EU borrowing for military purposes.

Hungary has repeatedly blocked or challenged EU efforts to use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, including lawsuits at the EU Court of Justice and refusal to approve sanctions or financing mechanisms that would channel these assets toward Kyiv’s military aid.

The EU agreed on December 12, 2025, to indefinitely freeze about €210 billion in Russian sovereign assets to remove the need for periodic renewals that Hungary and Slovakia could veto, aiming to underpin a major loan for Ukraine’s 2026–27 needs. Germany has backed the freeze and pledged guarantees for Belgium, which holds most of the assets.

Several other member states take a more supportive line: Belgium and Germany advocate using the frozen funds to finance Ukrainian aid, with Belgium demanding legal protections against potential Russian retaliation; the UK also backs tapping the assets.

Hungary’s opposition has provoked sharp criticism from leaders like Poland’s Radosław Sikorski and Ukraine’s foreign minister, who say Budapest’s rhetoric undermines EU unity and could align with Russian interests, while EU efforts persist to bypass vetoes through emergency legal mechanisms.

By Jeyhun Aghazada