Hungary blocks EU's $500 million military aid to Ukraine over being called 'sponsor of war'

Hungary’s opposition to the resolution has prevented the Council of the European Union from reaching a decision on a military aid package of EUR 500 million ($534 million) for Ukraine. Budapest is requesting legal assurances that Ukraine would never again designate Hungarian OTP Bank as an international sponsor of war, as it has done in the past because of the bank’s continuous operations in Russia. “As anticipated, the meeting of EU foreign ministers today resulted in no agreement on the eighth tranche (500 million) of military aid for Ukraine,” stated Jozwiak. “The Hungarian OTP [Bank] has been removed from the “blacklist of companies that conduct business in Russia,” but Budapest is seeking official guarantees that this removal is permanent.” OTP Bank was listed as an international supporter of war by the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) of Ukraine on May 4. Budapest declared on July 21 that it would reject the EU’s proposal to give Ukraine military assistance worth EUR 20 billion if Ukraine removed OTP Bank off the list. NACP temporarily halted this status on September 29. (with inputs from agencies)