Hungary Blocking Aid for Ukraine : Story of the Last Week
Even after the European Council summit, last week Hungary is still blocking the 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine. How is this even possible? And why is Hungary doing it? What was the loan about? In February 2026, the European Parliament approved a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine to help it resist Russia’s invasion. The loan was agreed under so-called enhanced cooperation procedure – mechanism that allows something to be implemented within the EU even if not all 27 member countries agree on it. All financial responsibility for it then goes only to the countries that wanted it – not to the EU as a whole. In this case, 24 EU member states supported the loan for Ukraine, except the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. Ukraine was supposed to repay the loan after it received war reparations from Russia. Wait, how come Hungary is blocking the loan, when it doesn’t have to participate in it, you may wonder… How can Hungary block the loan if it’s not obliged to pay? The problem is the loan was meant to come from the EU’s joint budget. And when it comes to paying something from the EU joint budget, all member states must agree on it – even those that won’t contribute financially. If they don’t agree, they can use veto, that blocks everything. Which is exactly what Hungary, and its prime minister Victor Orbán, is doing right now. Why is Orbán doing it? Victor Orbán claims Hungary is blocking the loan because Ukraine stopped oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Hungary with Russian oil and runs through the territory of Ukraine. In January (2026), this pipeline was damaged by a Russian attack. But instead of directing his anger at the perpetrator, Orbán is taking it out on Ukraine: accusing it of deliberately delaying repairs of the pipeline to energetically harm his country. Slovakia joined Hungary with the same arguments. For some reason, both countries chose to stay dependent on Russian oil even after the 2009 gas crisis showed them it wasn’t the best idea… As for the Czech Republic, although it did not support the loan, at least it is not blocking its sending now. Why is Orbán REALLY doing it? In reality, not even Orbán himself believes that Ukraine is actually to blame for Russia destroying its own oil pipeline… But he’s well aware that if he pretends to believe so and blocks the loan on that basis, he can force the EU into making some concessions towards Hungary. Like for example unfreezing Hungarian funds that have been frozen in 2024 due his violations of rule-of-law in Hungary. In addition, Orbán has long held anti-European stance and, conversely, a warm attitude towards Russia. Specifically, since 2010, when he became prime minister after his Fidesz party won the elections. Since then, he has been gradually undermining democracy in the country by limiting media freedom, and judicial independence, and fighting against NGOs. Like every populist, Orbán sees the European Union as something restrictive to his ambitions, while Russia, where a powerful leader does whatever he wants and no one interferes, as an inspiration. This position naturally translates into animosity towards Ukraine (since Ukraine is Russia’s number one enemy) and has already manifested itself in several conflicts. For example, in 2017, when Ukraine passed a law making Ukrainian the required language of study in state schools to fight against growing Russian influence in some of its regions. Orbán framed this as an attack on the Hungarian minority living in Ukraine. He continuously opposed the integration of Ukraine to NATO. And after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he refused to sanction Russia, spreading Russian narratives and portraying the attacked country as the aggressor. Current political context: upcoming elections The veto on aid for Ukraine is happening in the light of upcoming Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April 2026. To some extent it is also Orban’s strategy to activate his voters. Because this time Orbán is facing his toughest opponent yet: Péter Magyar and his Tizsa party, conservative, pro-European party, currently leading in the election polls. Last Sunday, Budapest saw two massive rallies: one organized by Orbán’s Fidesz party under the name of “Peace march” with a strong anti-European and anti-Ukrainian sentiment, and another by the Magyar’s Tizsa party demanding democracy and support for Ukraine. Why should we care? Because Orbán’s blockade doesn’t concern only Ukraine. Its aim is to weaken the EU. As the famous saying goes: where two are fighting, the third wins. The third being Russia, which is constantly trying to convince European countries to abandon bigger structures like European Union because isolated they would be an easier target for Russia. Because Russia’s aggression won’t stop at Ukraine. If Putin sees that the West is divided, he may target other countries. Not to mention that this will inspire other countries with expansive tendencies to do the same – which is already happening… Because, it’s all immoral: imagine how you would feel if someone broke into your home, and set it on fire, only for your neighbor to call the police on you for not putting out the flames fast enough. (Also, it would turn out that the neighbor is friends with the person who set your home on fire…) Sources:
Munich Security Conference : Story of the Last Week
As every year, world leaders gathered in Munich in the second week of February for one of the world’s most important meetings on global security and diplomacy. This year for its 62nd edition. Origin of Munich Security Conference The Munich Security Conference was first organized in 1963 as a small meeting of 60 countries by Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin. Ewald-Heinrich was the youngest plotter of the famous attempt to assassinate Hitler in Wolf’s Lair. He was supposed to be a part of a group who would organize a coup in case of its success. All this at the age of just 22 years! After the operation went unsuccessful, he managed to cover up his resistance activities. Luckily – because if not, he would have most likely ended up with a death sentence. This way Nazis “just” sent him to the concentration camp, where he managed to survive until the end of war. What’s the Purpose of the Munich Security Conference? In 1963 he came up with an idea to organise a Wehrkundetagung in Munich. The name was a bit of a tongue twister, but there was a simple idea behind it. Von Kleist wanted to make sure such a horrendous conflict as the 2nd World War would never happen again. Therefore he organised a meeting of about 60 important world leaders and international relations experts. Together thy discuss (often hot) security topics. What started as a small private event, has groven to giant proportions over the years Famous speeches at Munich Security Conference During its 62 years of existence, some famous speeches have been given by important actors in international relations on MSC. Such as: Make no mistake, the Munich Security Conference is still a private event. Unlike official government meetings, decisions made here are not legally binding on anyone. But that’s exactly the reason why this event is so worthy to observe. Politicians here dare to be more honest about their intentions. The highlights of MSC 2026 This year’s conference was much less revolutionary… There were no groundbreaking speeches, no strong words, no magical solutions. And compared to previous years, it had overall a little more pessimistic tone. Maybe that’s why didn’t hear that much about it from press. But despite this – or perhaps precisely because of this – we should keep an eye on it. The main topics were: The Collapse of the International Order and the Rise of Destructive Policies Caused mainly by the current dominant world power United States under the leadership of its president Donald Trump. Who is democratically destructive both domestically and internationally (remember, for example, his claims to Greenland). Compared to last year, when the US criticized Europe for its freedom of speech during the Conference, this year their rhetoric was a little more diplomatic. But the message stayed pretty much the same. The US will continue to play by its own rules – whether Europe likes it or not. The quote of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the US, Marco Rubio summs it all up. “We can no longer place the so-called global order above the vital interests of our people and our nation”. While Europe is still going through the 5 stages of grief over its relationship with the US, countries of the Global South, who never had many reasons to idealize the US, see the change in the international order more positively – especially as an opportunity to establish new trade agreements, now that America made itself unattractive business partner with its high tariffs. The War in Ukraine and European Security This topic is closely related to the previous one – since we only have to speak about it because certain actors chose to undermine the international order. Those actors being Russia, and more recently the US… The Greenland crisis at the beginning of this year raised an uncomfortable question: would NATO act or crumble in case of an escalation? And at the same time it gave Europe a push to start addressing its security not just through speeches, but through action. After the US decreased its military aid to Ukraine by 99 % over the last year, Europe had to step up – recently, the European Union approved a 90 billion euros loan to Ukraine. But more will be needed. However, there were no specific new proposals – only old ones that have been talked about for a long time (such as confiscating frozen Russian funds). The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy came to the Conference to stress that Ukraine would not be able to defend Europe indefinitely, and urged for increased European help and pressure on Russia and its enablers. Regional Conflicts The Munich Security Conference also addressed regional conflicts – like those which emerged in Syria after the fall of Assad regime or civil war in Sudan that has been going on since 2023 Some attention was also paid to technology, and AI. The Conference didn’t forget about climate crisis either. For example, speakers addressed the access to drinkable water that will be problematic in the future. However, due to the current tense security situation in the world, this topic remained in the background compared to previous years. Why should we care? Because the Munich Security Conference does not generate any legally binding policies, world leaders don’t try that hard to mask their controversial intentions – so it gives us an ideal opportunity to see their true collors… …and to understand the REAL reasons why they want us to support (or not) certain of their decisions. Because MSC can help us get a better overview on priorities of different countries and on relationships between them.
Why is There a War in Ukraine?
Even though the whole world talks about the war in Ukraine, not many people know this conflict’s background. Not because they would be stupid – war in Ukraine is actually pretty simple – but because it takes time to understand it. Some poeple don’t have this time. And then other people try to take advantage of them: spreading misleading or even purposely false information. The following article therefore summarizes all important moments in Ukrainian history relevant to the current war. Yeah, it’s long, but we tried – after all, we’re talking about more than a thousand years of development… We also didn’t want to leave out any important information. Putin and Russian propaganda often justify the war in Ukraine by selecting only what suits them from Ukrainian history – it’s hard to detect if you don’t have the whole picture – so here it is 😉 Kievan Rus’: How it All Began The story begins in the 9th century with Kievan Rus’, the first state formation of Slavs (before there were only tribes). Covering parts of modern-day Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus. Because Kievan Rus’ was very big, its ruler Vladimir the Great divided it into smaller principalities between his sons: But Kievan Rus’ never controlled all of modern Ukraine. The southern steppe dominated Turkic tribes – the Pechenegs and Cumans – who were constantly in conflict with Kievan Rus’ (everyone was constantly in a conflict in this time period). In the 13th century, Mongolian Empire invaded Kievan Rus’. It was more precisely one sector of Mongolian Empire called the Golden Horde. Kievan Rus’ fell apart. Its successor states were Kingdom of Galicia-Volhynia, Novgorod Republic and Vladimir-Suzdal. Ukraine between Poland, Moscow, and the Crimean Khanate Kingdom of Galicia and Volhynia was later divided between Poland and Latvia. Those countries were in their prime at that time, and later they formed a Polish-Lithuanian Union. Novgorod Republic and Vladimir-Suzdal were located in a territory of nowadays Russia, and Vladimir-Suzdal later transformed into Principality of Moscow, which is ancestor to nowadays Russia. In the 15th century, the Golden Horde transformed into the Crimean Khanate, a vessel of the Ottoman Empire. The word vessel can be a little bit confusing: it might feel like a synonym for friend or partner… But keep in mind, at this time of history, all states were competitors trying to secure their own safety, and get as much power as possible – event those three states on the territory of Ukraine: Polish-Lithuanian Union, Principality of Moscow, and Crimean Khanate Cossacks Into this dynamics emerged Cossacks. Semi-independent, combative groups with uncertain ethnic origin, which started to settle around the Dnipro river in the 16th century. Basically at a meeting point of our three states (Polish-Lithuanian Union, Moscow Principality, and Crimean Khanate) The combativeness of Cossacks was making them hard to conquer, and at the same time – in the eyes of Poland and Crimean Khanate – an ideal army: if they paid them enough money, they would go fight anyone. In the 17th century, Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, sought to renew Kievan Rus’. To accomplish that, he allied with the Crimean Khanate. At first they were winning – Cossacks even managed to form their state: so-called Hetmanate (name derived from “hetman”, the leader of the Cossacks). But after some time, the Crimean Khanate got scared by the power Cossacks were gaining and betrayed them. Cossacks had to search for a new ally. Out of all possibilities, Khmelnytskyi resorted to Moscow. He had to – nothing else worked out. This 1654 Pereyaslav Agreement between Cossacks and Moscow was very unequal. Cossacks had to accept the sovereignty of the Tsar. Hetmanate, which was pretty much the majority of nowadays Ukraine, fell under the full control of Russia. After Khmelnytskyi died, his successors tried to get Hetmanate out of the Russian influence – without any success. Since Poland was also making territorial claims, Ukraine was split along the Dnieper River: the west went to Poland, the east stayed with Russia. In the 18th despite its big size, Poland lost its power and neighboring countries Prussia, Russia and the Habsburg monarch decided to use this opportunity and divided Poland between themselves. (It’s called “three partitions of Poland”). This meant the Russian sphere of influence moved more to the west and the only part of nowadays Ukraine left out was Galicia, now belonging to the Habsburg monarchy. Neither Habsburg monarchy nor Russia were ideal for Ukrainians to live in. They were both trying to suppress their national identity. Russia maybe a bit more, since they were trying to claim Ukrainian language is just a branch of Russian language. The German-speaking Habsburg monarchy obviously couldn’t use this argument. When Russians are nowadays making territorial claims about Ukraine, this historical period is one of their arguments. Another one is Crimea. A Glimpse into Crimea While Ukraine’s heartland was divided between Poland and Russia, Crimea followed its own path. Originally ruled by the Crimean Khanate, a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, it fell to Catherine the Great in the 18th century after Russia won in the war against the Ottomans. Crimea stayed under Russia until 1954. As all parts of the Soviet Union, Crimea underwent strong Russification. It was the worst under Stalin, who tried to get rid of Crimea’s indigenous population, Crimean Tatars, by deporting them to gulags. In 1954, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev donated Crimea to Ukraine. At that time it was a symbolic gesture with little practical impact, since both were part of the USSR. However it started to be problematic after the fall of the Soviet Union. After the fall of the Soviet Union, there were some attempts to make Crimea independent. Historically and ethnically, Crimean Tatars truly don’t have much in common – neither with Russia, nor with Ukraine. They are a Turkic ethnic group, with a language from Turkic languages family, and their predominant religion is Islam. Plus until the 18th century they had their own country: Crimean Khanate. So, in an
European Parliament in Nutshell: February 2026
Every month, the European Parliament plenary session takes place in Strasbourg. And every month, IR Media follows it closely. These are the highlights of the last plenary session taking place from 9th to 12nd February 2026: Change in European migration policy The European Parliament voted for creation of a so-called: “EU list of safe countries of origin”. Which is basically a list of countries from which it is assumed people have no reason to migrate. So if you try to migrate from them, they will most likely sent you back in an accelerated process. So far, each EU country had its own such list. Now they want to make a common one and add Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, India, Morocco and Tunisia to it, as well as the EU candidate countries. Parliament also validated so-called “safe third country” concept. Instead of accepting asylum seekers, EU countries could redirect them to some other country, through which the applicant either transited, has some connection with (like language or family), or none of that and the two countries juste have an agreement with each other. On the one hand, this will save EU some time and work. On the other hand some “safe” countries are not safe for everyone – think about homosexuals or political dissidents… European Parliament Approves €90 Billion Ukraine Support Loan The European Parliament approved a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine to help it resist Russian invasion, which is approaching its 5th anniversary. The loan was agreed under so-called enhanced cooperation procedure. This mechanism allows something to be implemented within the EU even if not all countries agree on it. All financial responsibility for it then goes only to the countries that wanted it – not to the EU as a whole. In this case, 24 EU member states supported the loan, while the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia did not. The EU is providing the loan on the condition that Ukraine continues to promote democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and the fight against corruption. Ukraine will repay the loan after it receives war reparations from Russia. How to deal with Europe’s Housing crisis ? The European Parliament’s Special Committee on the Housing Crisis came up with recommendations to deal with the housing crisis in the EU. The MEPs proposed things like: making new houses more energy efficient, limiting short-term rentals, offering more public and social housing, introducing tax breaks for low- and middle-income households, simplifying the administration for new housing projects or better use of EU funds… This session they voted on it within the committee. The next step will be to present it to the whole Parliament, which will happen in March. The next sitting will be held from 9th to 12th March 2026 in Strasbourg
PHOTOREPORTAGE: Solidarity Visit to Ukraine
In July 2023, I took part in solidarity visit to Ukraine organised by Ukrainian Leadership Academy. We spend one week visiting Kyiv, Lutsk, and Lviv, and exploring local humanitarian aid organizations.