Europeans' grandchildren to pay for new loan to Kiev — Hungarian PM

The potential new loan of 135 billion euros that the European Commission is offering Kiev will have to be repaid by the grandchildren of today's European citizens, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.

"An astronomical sum that does not exist today. It simply does not exist. The Brussels’ ‘magic trick’ would once again be a joint European loan, a move that would ensure even our grandchildren would be burdened with repaying the costs of the Russian-Ukrainian <…> [conflict]," the Hungarian prime minister wrote on his X page. Orban noted that the amount requested by the European Commission, which is planned to be allocated to Kiev over two years, is at least 65% of Hungary's annual economy and nearly 75% of the EU's annual budget.

"This is more than impossible. This is categorically absurd. Hungary’s response will come without delay," the prime minister added.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen sent a letter to EU countries with official proposals on the expropriation of Russian assets and two alternative financing options for Ukraine based on loans.