Germany is messing with Hungary blocking further EU military aid to Ukraine

THE German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticized yesterday Tuesday (23/5) in Brussels the attitude of Hungarywhich prevented further administration military aid from EU in Ukraine in the council of ministers.

Mr Pistorius stated “somewhat disappointed and irritated by the behavior of the Hungarian friends”, after Budapest’s decision to block the sending of further military aid.

Hungary’s government has been outraged that Ukraine’s national anti-corruption service (EPS) listed Hungary’s biggest bank, OTP, as a backer of Russia’s war on Ukraine in early May, accusing it of supporting “terrorism”. OTP is among the largest financial services providers in the Russian market after the outbreak of war on February 24, 2022, according to Kyiv.

A representative of the Hungarian government had made it clear the day before Monday that Budapest would block the sending of further military aid until the OTP was removed from the list.

Hungary is blocking a decision to increase the resources of the European Peace Mechanism, a European fund that compensates states that offer military aid to EU partners.

The head of European diplomacy, Giuseppe Borrell, said after the council that he hoped that “obstacles to approving the amount will be overcome”. “Overwhelming majority of member states” in favor of increasing the fund’s reserves by 3.5 billion eurosMr. Borrell emphasized.

Ukrainian F-16 pilot training

The High Representative welcomed the agreement to begin training Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighter jets, but Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak tried to play down what Mr Borel said.

Mr. Blaszczak clarified that Warsaw is just ready to start training Ukrainian pilots, while the head of European diplomacy said that the training has already started.

According to Mr Pistorius, Berlin is studying whether and how it could help train Ukrainian air force pilots, although Germany does not have F-16s.