EU approves a $106 billion loan package to help Ukraine after Hungary
lifts its veto
[April 24, 2026]
By LORNE COOK, JUSTIN SPIKE and KAREL JANICEK
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Thursday approved a
90-billion-euro ($106-billion) loan package to help Ukraine meet its
economic and military needs for two years after oil began flowing
through a key pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia, ending months of
political deadlock.
The EU also approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war
on Ukraine. The measures were prepared early this year and had been set
to be announced in February to mark the fourth anniversary of the
conflict, but Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move.
Hungary and Slovakia have been locked in a feud with Ukraine since
Russian oil deliveries to the two EU countries were halted in January
after a pipeline was damaged. Ukrainian officials blamed the damage on
Russian drone attacks. Both countries confirmed Thursday that deliveries
have resumed.
Ukraine desperately needs the loan package to prop up its war-ravaged
economy and help keep Russian forces at bay. Hungary angered its EU
partners by reneging on a December deal to provide the funds. The loans
are expected to be available in coming weeks and months.
“Promised, delivered, implemented,” European Council President António
Costa posted on social media. A few hours later, as he arrived to chair
a summit of EU leaders in Cyprus, Costa told reporters that the priority
now must be to advance Ukraine's quest to join the bloc.
Standing alongside him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked
his European partners for their support. “We will work to make sure the
funds are delivered as soon as possible,” he said. “This will
strengthen, of course first of all our army, Ukrainian forces, and allow
us to boost production.”
Pipeline breakthrough
The political greenlight for the loan package came after Russian oil
began flowing to Hungary and Slovakia again through the Druzhba pipeline
that crosses Ukraine. Populist Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico
welcomed that development as “good news.”
“Let’s hope a serious relation between Ukraine and the European Union
has been established,” Fico said.
Hungarian energy group MOL said it had “received crude oil at the
Fényeslitke and Budkovce pumping stations earlier Thursday. Crude oil
deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline system have thus resumed to Hungary
and Slovakia after a hiatus of nearly three months.”
Ukraine and most of its European backers oppose imports of Russian oil
which have helped to fund Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against
Ukraine, now in its fifth year. But unlike the rest of the European
Union, Hungary and Slovakia still depend on Russia for their energy
needs.
Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was recently
defeated in an election, had accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying
repairs — an allegation that Zelenskyy denied.
Fico said Thursday he still didn’t believe the pipeline was damaged at
all and alleged that the pipeline and oil “were used in the current
geopolitical battle.”
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes statements as he arrives for
the EU Summit in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP
Photo/Petros Karadjias)
Another EU voting hijack
The row has raised yet more troubling questions about
decision-making in the EU, which can often be held hostage to
national interests when unanimous votes are required. Several top
officials have in recent months called for more majority voting.
The 27-nation bloc had originally intended to use frozen Russian
assets as collateral for the loan. But that option was blocked by
Belgium, where the bulk of the frozen assets are held.
In December, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia agreed not to
stop their EU partners from borrowing the money on international
markets as long as the three countries did not have to take part in
the scheme.
But Orbán, who has repeatedly blocked EU aid to Ukraine, angered the
other 24 countries by later reneging on that deal over the pipeline
dispute and as campaigning heated up ahead of the April 12 election
that he lost in a landslide.
More sanctions on Russia
The EU has also been trying since February to push through a new
raft of sanctions against Russia to undermine its war effort, but
Hungary and Slovakia were also blocking those measures over the oil
feud.
More than 40 ships believed to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet
illicitly transporting oil were targeted.
Oil revenue is the linchpin of Russia’s economy, allowing Putin to
pour money into the armed forces without worsening inflation for
everyday people and avoiding a currency collapse.
A number of banks were targeted, and a ban was imposed on Europeans
using Russian crypto currency.
Asset freezes were slapped on around 60 more “entities” — often
companies, government agencies, banks or other organizations —
adding to a growing list of more than 2,600 Russian officials and
entities already under sanctions, including Putin, his political
associates, oligarchs, and dozens of lawmakers.
___
Spike reported from Budapest. Janicek reported from Prague.
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