The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Hungary to block sanctions against Russia, EU aid for Ukraine unless Kyiv removes OTP bank from list of ‘international war sponsors.’

by The Kyiv Independent news desk May 18, 2023 1:29 AM 2 min read
Hungarian Trade and Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks during an interview in Ankara, Turkiye on May 03, 2023. (Photo by Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that his country won’t support the 11th sanctions package against Russia and the 500 million euro military support tranche for Ukraine unless Kyiv removes the Hungarian bank from the blacklist.

On May 4, Ukraine’s National Corruption Prevention Agency designated Hungary’s OTP Bank an “international sponsor of war” due to the bank’s decision to continue operating in Russia and adherence to a credit law directly referring to the proxy regimes in Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

OTP Bank is one of the 50 largest banks in Russia, serving more than 2.2 million customers.

The bank provides “preferential lending conditions to (members of) the Russian military,” including the opportunity to defer payments on loans, the National Corruption Prevention Agency wrote.

On May 15, Szijjarto said that “OTP has not violated any international laws. Its operations fully comply with all kinds of expectations and legislation.” “Placing it on the list of international sponsors of war is unacceptable and scandalous,” he added.

A senior EU official said that the EU will discuss this issue on May 22 in Brussels, CNN reported.

“We’re going to talk to the Ukrainian side. We’ll talk to the Member States, talk to Hungary, of course,” the official said.

Reuters: Hungary withholds approval of military support tranche for Ukraine
Hungary has decided not to approve the disbursement of the next tranche of military support for Ukraine provided under the European Peace Facility (EPF) of the European Union, Reuters reported, citing an announcement from the Hungarian government spokesperson’s office on May 16.

News Feed

8:08 PM

Ukrainians react to US proposal of recognizing Crimea as Russian.

The U.S. media outlet Axios reported on April 23 that the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's final proposal for ending the Russia-Ukraine war included the U.S. de jure recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and de facto recognizing its control of other occupied Ukrainian territories. We asked Kyiv residents for their reactions to the U.S. proposal.
7:21 PM  (Updated: )

Trump says 'nobody is asking' Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian.

"Nobody is asking (President Volodymyr) Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.