EU readies €90 billion package for Ukraine, sidestepping Orbán — Politico
Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Getty Images)
The European Union will provide Ukraine with the promised €90 billion loan, even if Hungary and Slovakia continue to block the funds, Politico reports.
According to two European diplomats, EU leaders will meet at a summit in Brussels next week.
There, they will try to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico to keep their promise to approve a loan that would provide two-thirds of the money Ukraine needs to continue fighting the Russian invasion until the end of 2027.
"But if the pair refuse to back down, Baltic and Nordic countries have a plan to give Ukraine enough money to keep it afloat through the first half of this year," Politico sources say.
In particular, this involves bilateral loans totaling around €30 billion, which do not require EU approval.
Separately, Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen said his government is ready to provide Kyiv with €3.5 billion per year until 2029 in the form of bilateral support.
EU loan for Ukraine
On December 18, 2025, the European Council in Brussels agreed on an EU loan to support Ukraine, and on January 14, 2026, it was presented by the European Commission.
The loan amounts to €90 billion and is intended to cover about two-thirds of Ukraine's financial needs for 2026–2027.
However, Hungary, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is blocking the provision of macro-financial assistance. Budapest's main condition is the resumption of Russian raw material supplies through the Druzhba oil pipeline.
As a result, Ukraine may face a budget deficit as early as spring.
