Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called the European Union’s (EU) demand for $800 billion in aid over the next 10 years to rebuild war-torn Ukraine “unrealistic.” He made it clear that “money doesn’t grow on trees” and that Hungary would not agree to finance Ukraine.
In a post on social media, Orbán said that Ukraine’s demands would also impose an additional burden on Hungary – amounting to more than $9 billion. He questioned where this huge amount of money would come from.
Documents released by the Hungarian government show that since February 2022, Ukraine has already received €193.3 billion in financial and military aid, part of which came from the proceeds of seized Russian assets. In comparison, Hungary’s net aid from the EU from 2004 to 2024 was €7.3 billion.
The document also notes that while there are plans to allocate large sums of money from the EU budget for Ukraine in the future, Kiev does not have the capacity to pay them. Hungary’s position is made clear – the country is opposed to unlimited funding and military assistance for Ukraine and will not pay to prolong the war at the expense of its people.
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian authorities have proposed a $800 billion ‘global package’ for reconstruction over the next 10 years as part of their peace plan, which has already been presented to the United States and Western European leaders.