BUDAPEST, December 22. /TASS/. By extending a €90 billion interest-free loan to Ukraine, Europe is prolonging the conflict, Balazs Orban, Political Director for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, stated.

"Even supporters of the €90 billion Ukraine loan concede it will not be repaid. <...> This is not economic policy, but financing the continuation of war," he wrote on X.

The politician argued that the move would ultimately lead to cuts in other areas of European countries’ budgets, emphasizing that Hungary will not participate in the loan.

Earlier, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic formally refused to participate in the €90 billion interest-free loan to Ukraine for 2026-2027. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban later said the EU loan approved at a Brussels summit would not save Ukraine from defeat, adding that "the longer the war continues, the weaker Kiev’s negotiating position will become."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had reported that EU leaders failed to agree on seizing frozen Russian assets under a so-called reparations loan for Kiev. Instead, they chose to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion interest-free loan using funds raised through joint EU borrowing.