Hungary has blocked €500M in aid for Ukraine, but the EU has a backup plan.

Hungary has blocked access to the European Peace Fund money that EU countries have been using to purchase weapons for Ukraine. According to a high-ranking EU diplomat, EU countries will put pressure on Budapest on January 23 during a meeting of EU foreign ministers, which will work on coordinating the seventh package of EU military aid to Ukraine. Until now, Hungary, which itself does not supply weapons to Ukraine, has abstained from voting on decisions regarding upcoming aid tranches and has not prevented defense support to Ukraine. The Hungarian veto is now particularly infuriating to EU diplomats, as it has no justification other than that it favors Russia. However, if Budapest stands its ground, the EU may adopt this the decision which has been agreed upon by the other 26 EU countries. Moreover, the EU Council also plans to consider the allocation of an additional €45M for training Ukrainian soldiers.