European Union leaders on Thursday overcame months of opposition from Hungarian leader Viktor Orban to agree 50 billion euros ($54 billion) of aid for Ukraine, in a move they hailed as a strong message to Russia. The deal to keep funds flowing to Ukraine comes as doubts over support from Kyiv’s Western backers have buoyed Russian President Vladimir Putin, nearly two years into his invasion of the neighboring country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the European Union for the funds, which he called “long-awaited.”
In an abrupt about-face at the start of the gathering, Orban agreed to drop his veto on the four-year package for Kyiv in the face of intense pressure from the EU’s other 26 leaders. The Hungarian nationalist appeared to come away largely empty-handed – securing only the promise of a possible review on the spending in two years.
Orban – Russia’s closest ally in the EU – had sparked fury from his counterparts in the bloc by thwarting a deal on the aid in December. Thursday’s talks were expected again to see hours of protracted political arm-wrestling but a deal was swiftly announced after Orban met beforehand with the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, and the EU institutions. “He gave some ground,” said one European diplomat. “He saw that people were growing irritated, that there was a line not to cross.”
The latest EU showdown took place against the backdrop of swelling protests by European farmers, who clogged roads around the summit with 1,300 tractors in a show of strength, lighting fires, and pulling down a city statue. Von der Leyen announced that Brussels would put forward plans to ease rules and red tape criticized by farmers protesting across Europe.
