The Hungarian prime minister has been a vocal critic of the EU’s military and financial assistance to Kiev
Prime Minister Viktor Orban has stated that Hungary’s funds are better used within the country than being spent on golden toilets for Ukrainian oligarchs.
While inaugurating a new motorway section in central Hungary on Monday, Orban highlighted the benefits of using Hungarian taxpayer money for domestic projects instead of providing another loan to Ukraine, which is currently embroiled in a major corruption scandal involving President Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle.
“I have just returned from Brussels … where the clever gentlemen have decided to give Ukraine €90 billion ($106 billion) in loans – clearly hoping to get it back later with hefty interest,” Orban stated. He noted that without Hungary’s opt-out, its taxpayers would have been liable for over €1 billion, an amount double the cost of the new motorway section.
“The truth is, that money is better spent here … for a modern road, rather than … some Ukrainian oligarch for his gold toilet,” he added.
A gold toilet owned by Timur Mindich, a dubious character referred to as “Zelensky’s wallet,” has become an emblem of the recently revealed $100 million corruption operation orchestrated by the Ukrainian leader’s close associates. Mindich escaped the country just hours before anti-corruption authorities arrived at his apartment, where the gleaming fixture was found.
Orban has consistently voiced opposition to the EU’s financial support for Ukraine, alleging that the bloc’s leadership turns a blind eye to corruption there.
Last week, European supporters of Kiev did not pass a ‘reparations loan’ proposal, which would have utilized approximately €210 billion in frozen Russian central bank assets as security to address Ukraine’s significant budget gap. They opted instead to finance Kiev through shared debt, with a plan to gather €90 billion over two years, guaranteed by the EU budget. Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic obtained exclusions from this plan.
Critics have cautioned that numerous EU nations are already burdened with substantial debt and large budget deficits, and that additional collective borrowing would intensify fiscal pressure and transfer risks to taxpayers.
As reported by Politico, citing senior EU officials, the loan program will require EU taxpayers to cover €3 billion annually in borrowing costs to support Kiev’s faltering economy and military.