German Defense Minister criticizes Hungary for blocking more aid to Ukraine

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has openly criticized the Hungarian government for blocking further aid to Ukraine.

Before a meeting with his counterparts in the European Union, the minister of the Social Democratic Party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in Brussels on Tuesday that he was somewhat disappointed or disturbed by the behavior of the Hungarian friends.

The reluctant position on the part of Hungary comes against the backdrop of the inclusion of the largest Hungarian bank, OTP Bank, on a Ukrainian list of supporters of the Russian war, which angered Budapest.

On Monday, a Hungarian government spokesman announced Budapest’s refusal to provide new military aid to Ukraine as long as OTB Bank wasn’t removed from the Ukrainian list.

On the other hand, the German minister confirmed that he could not share Budapest’s reasons, and said that the Hungarian government’s behavior was unfriendly.

Specifically, Hungary has obstructed the promotion of a mechanism known as the European Peace Facility (EPF), which is a financing vehicle through which the EU supplies weapons and equipment and supports the training of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Hungary also intends not to agree to a new package of sanctions from the European Union against Russia due to the inclusion of its largest bank in the Ukrainian list, which is a package that aims primarily to prevent circumvention of the implementation of the current European sanctions against Russia.

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption in Ukraine included OTP Bank on its list of war sponsors in early May, and justified this by the fact that the Russian branch of OTP Bank continued as one of the leading banks in the Russian financial services market even after the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The agency said that the continuation of financing operations through the Russian branch clearly demonstrates the (OTB) group’s support for terrorism.

According to Pistorius, Germany is studying whether Berlin can help train Ukrainian pilots to use the F16, and the German Defense Minister indicated that his country doesn’t have this type of aircraft.