Reuters. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed EU leaders at a summit on Thursday (March 19) as they sought to agree on a vital 90‑billion‑euro EU loan for Ukraine to keep up its fight against Russia's invasion.
However, European Union leaders failed to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to lift his blockade on the loan, officials said after the summit.
EU leaders agreed to the loan in December but Orban, who has cordial ties with Russia and has clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has so far blocked its implementation, citing a dispute over a war-damaged pipeline.
Orban's stance has angered other EU leaders as Kyiv could run short of money in weeks if it does not receive new funding and his U-turn has called into question the credibility of the European Council, the EU's highest decision-making body.
