The IIV scandal and Viktor Orban's Byzantine swing

Exclusive. At a time when the countries of the free world, emphasizing that they are also of the Cossack race, united around Ukraine and its people, Viktor Orban decided to leave his own mark in world history. The Hungarian people are overcoming problems on their own, European financial funds are not available due to the bluff of the Hungarian government, which it called reforms, meanwhile Orbán is spouting Kremlin narratives.

Viktor Orban

Viktor Orban blocks Sweden's membership in NATO. Through Russia or Turkey?

This question was investigated by the leading Central European researcher VSquare, a Hungarian investigative journalist Sabolch Panyi. Although no one knows the real reason for Orbán's reluctance to fully support NATO expansion, the expert named four theories.

"Mr. State Secretary, are we blocking the Swedes for the sake of the Turks? Mr. Secretary of State, aren't we voting [on Sweden joining NATO] on behalf of the Russians?" This is how the Hungarian opposition deputy expressed himself in Hungarian Parliament On March 28, just one day after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's parliamentary majority gave the green light to Finland's NATO membership. However, Orbán's government still refuses to admit Sweden to the military alliance and is putting the issue on hold indefinitely.

Since July 2022, Hungary's parliament, in which Orbán's ruling coalition has an overwhelming majority, has blocked a vote on the two northern countries' accession to NATO. Instead, Finland's membership was put to a vote, while Sweden's was not. Although every Fidesz MP present, including Viktor Orbán himself, voted for Finland, the one who was supposed to introduce the initiative was absent, apparently due to his important commitments elsewhere. This is Peter Szijjarto, Orbán's foreign minister, laureate of the prestigious Russian state award "Order of Friendship" and the most Russia-friendly member of the Hungarian government.

The acceptance of one new NATO member instead of two, when the foreign minister was supposed to make a proposal to join, but simply prevented a vote, is emblematic of the Orbán government's foreign policy. Orbán's balancing act between Hungary's Western allies and Moscow – for example, voting for EU sanctions against Russia while trying to exempt top Kremlin allies from the same sanctions – is well documented. Hungary's strategy to slow down NATO expansion, but not stop it entirely, fits this model perfectly.

The situation is suspicious, with Hungary constantly postponing parliamentary votes on international treaties necessary for the membership of Finland and Sweden, and the country's leaders giving contradictory explanations and breaking promises, including to Poland, a country once considered Hungary's closest ally.

"I asked Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to ratify the possibility of Finland and Sweden joining NATO as soon as possible. I got a promise. There is a specific date. There are obligations on the part of Hungary, and I am very grateful to you for that," said Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during the meeting of the Visegrad Four in Košice in November 2022. According to Morawiecki, Orbán promised him that he would hold a vote on both countries joining NATO in early 2023, during the first session of the Hungarian parliament in February. It didn't happen.

As Russia's war in Ukraine continues and Russia's subversive activities in non-NATO countries Georgia and Moldova become increasingly apparent, NATO's role in protecting the security of Europe cannot be overstated. But the Hungarian government seems to have other priorities.

What prevents Orban from keeping his word?

Sabolch Panyi

"Turkish theory" and "Swedish theory of the arms deal"

Turkey, another NATO member that blocks enlargement, does so explicitly because of Sweden's support for Kurdish political groups. The Hungarian government did not make any clear requests and did not express any reservations of its own for a long time. Both treaties were submitted to Hungary's parliament in July 2022, and most expected everything to go through, despite Orbán's alarming comment that went unnoticed. At the time, he said parliament was due to discuss the issue in the fall of 2022, but also added that his government was "paying particular attention to Turkey's reservations." Turkey has demanded that Sweden extradite the Kurds, whom Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called "terrorists." Erdogan also demanded that the northern European country stop supporting certain Kurdish groups. Orbán's comment sounded rather strange, since the Kurdish issue had nothing to do with Hungary's national interests.

In addition, Sweden is one of Hungary's most important military suppliers, which means that Hungary has a direct interest in deepening defense cooperation with this northern country. Sweden provided 14 Swedish-made (Saab) Gripen fighter jets to Hungary based on a decision and contract signed by the first Orbán government in 2001 and then extended by his second government in 2012. During Orbán's third government, Hungary modernized its army with Swedish-made Carl Gustav anti-tank weapons, as well as a deployed maintenance facility to support the Hungarian Air Force.

Given the nature of how Orbán's government operates, it would make sense to think that Hungary was trying to use Sweden's NATO membership to negotiate lower prices in some new arms sales deals or another extension of its Gripen fighter jet lease.

On the other hand, Turkey is also an important ally of Hungary or at least of Erdogan for Orbán. Ever since his infamous "illiberal democracies" speech in 2014, Viktor Orbán has made it clear that he looks to Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian Turkey as a role model. In addition, since the mid-2010s it has been well known that Orbán's own family has established close ties with Adnan Polant, a Turkish oligarch close to Erdogan. (Orban's daughter was even photographed during a private meeting with a businessman and his son.) Hungary has also signed lucrative defense contracts with Turkey, and recently even signed a military agreement that provides for the exchange of intelligence.

Viktor Orban's daughter in Turkey

In addition, numerous Fidesz officials have openly stated that "Hungary will not be the last country" to ratify the accession treaties, meaning the Orbán government is echoing Turkey's actions. Second, on March 17, just hours after Erdogan announced that Turkey would support Finland's NATO bid but not Sweden's, the head of the Fidesz parliamentary faction announced the same. Before that, there was no indication that Hungary would treat Finland and Sweden differently.

The theory of "EU money"

In the second half of 2022, every remark made by members of Viktor Orbán's ruling party indicated full support within their ranks for both Finland and Sweden's NATO membership. But the government said they were too busy to squeeze the vote onto the parliamentary agenda. During this period, the Hungarian government claimed, they were focused on passing legislation required by the European Commission for Hungary to gain access to EU funds.

This explanation instantly sparked speculation that Orbán is simply trying to blackmail the EU by blocking Finland and Sweden from joining NATO until the Commission unfreezes EU funds that have been halted due to corruption and rule of law problems in Hungary. This theory made some sense. On the other hand, both Sweden and Finland are only minor players in EU policy-making, not to mention how easily such blackmail can backfire.

The first session of Hungary's parliament in 2023 was already underway when Orbán suddenly made it clear that he would not keep the promise he made to Morawiecki. After months of pointing the finger at Turkey or pretending that Hungary's parliament is busy fulfilling a request from the European Commission, Orbán suddenly came up with a brand new explanation that confirms "EU money theory".

"Between us, [Fidesz] MPs are not fully enthusiastic. Some people believe that we should talk to the dear Finns and Swedes, because it is unacceptable for these two countries to ask us for help, while at the same time they spread outright lies about Hungary, for example, that there is no democracy or rule of law there," said Orbán in a radio interview, directly linking NATO expansion with the debate in the EU regarding the situation with the rule of law in Hungary.

Of course, all the deputies mentioned by Orbán were handpicked by him personally and never dared to speak against their prime minister in the previous twelve years. As shown analysis of Radio Free Europe, the bill proposed by the government received 99,7% support in parliament from the Fidesz faction and 100% support from the satellite faction of the Christian Democrats since 2010.

After Orban's statement, political theater took place. Two delegations of second-tier politicians from Fidesz were sent to Helsinki and Stockholm to sort out the alleged "differences", problems so acute they had not been mentioned once in the previous seven months. After those delegations finished their meetings with their Finnish and Swedish counterparts, a vote on both countries' rumored accession was finally put on the parliament's agenda — before Erdogan backed only Finland's bid, forcing Hungary to stay the course.

"Russian theory"

There is a third explanation for what the Hungarian government was doing with the applications of the two Scandinavian countries to join NATO.

A few days before the Fidesz MP spoke out about Finland, László Köver, the speaker of the parliament and the most influential Fidesz politician after Orbán, made outspoken statements. The politician, known for his radical views and outspoken style, said in an interview that "NATO and the EU are not taking steps towards peace" and reiterated his long-held view that "Russia has legitimate security claims."

Laszlo Koever

Speaking about NATO expansion, he also claimed that Fidesz MPs are "concerned about the threat of war, as Finland shares a 1340-kilometer border with Russia, which they believe increases the risk of a military conflict." He framed his argument as if NATO does not currently share borders with Russia, and failed to mention that NATO membership has successfully ensured full protection of all its members from Russian aggression. The countries that Russia attacked in recent decades were outside the NATO alliance.

This saga of delaying Finland and Sweden's accession to NATO is not the first time that Hungarian government actions appear to align with Russian interests or "security needs." And while the "Turkey theory" and the "EU money theory" ring true when looking at the bigger picture and the wider behavior pattern of the Orbán government, there is also a "Russia theory" at play.

The Orbán government has blocked official high-level NATO-Ukraine meetings since 2017, citing violations of the rights of ethnic Hungarian minorities in western Ukraine. However, as previous investigations by VSquare have shown, one of the main actors in the local tension in Transcarpathia is Russia, which conducts covert operations under a false flag. Orbán's government has been silent on this. However, Hungary's recent blocking of official Ukraine-NATO meetings has upset the alliance so much that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg ignored Hungary's veto and called the meeting anyway. (Another example of Hungary's subversive behavior is that the country also blocked Ukraine from joining the NATO Cyber ​​Defense Center.)

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Viktor Orbán's government has not only decided not to provide any military support to Kyiv, but has also prevented military aid from other NATO countries from crossing the Hungarian-Ukrainian border. And while even strongly pro-Russian NATO members such as Bulgaria and Slovakia expelled several Russian diplomats for espionage after February 24, Hungary did not follow suit. Orbán's government has also rejected calls to leave International Investment Bank (IIB), a Russian-dominated shadow financial institution that many NATO members see as a cover for Russian intelligence. Meanwhile, Hungary's government-controlled pro-Orbán media have been spreading clear narratives for almost a decade The Kremlin.

However, most of these questions about the pro-Kremlin positions of the Orbán government have largely been ignored or dismissed as unimportant, local problems of a small, geopolitically insignificant country in Central Eastern Europe. The history of blocking the membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO forces us to behave differently. Whatever the real reason behind Orbán's strategy, and whichever of these four theories is the most realistic, will have serious consequences for Hungary's already tarnished reputation as an unreliable NATO ally.

The best thing Viktor Orbán has learned during his uninterrupted rule of Hungary is Byzantine politics, bluffing and telling lies he seems to believe. Hungary is losing its state, its image in the global world, and its future. Before us is an example of personality degradation due to financial and other addictions.

Santa Barbara with Budapest Russian IIB continues. Panic because of the published information seized with new force

I am writing about this story in view of the fact that it has had a negative impact on all four countries of the Visegrad Group and its completion is not yet foreseen. The fact is that there are many such stories about the Russian Federation, and Ukraine's war against the Russian occupier made it possible to see and understand how this country built relations with those it called partners.

Orbán's government has attempted to unfreeze funds blocked by the European Union and tried to help Russians avoid direct Western sanctions.

Hacked emails reveal behind-the-scenes operations of the International Investment Bank against the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which have just left it. Poland is still trying to get its money back after exiting more than two decades ago.

The International Investment Bank (IIB), a Russian-linked bank in Budapest, spoke too confidently on February 24 last year, the day Russia invaded Ukraine. In a statement published that day, it was said that "recent geopolitical events do not in any way affect the bank's activities, the implementation of its strategy or the fulfillment of its obligations to investors, partners and customers." However, behind the scenes of the bank, panic quickly spread.

In the days and weeks that followed, IIB management became increasingly concerned as the European financial institution froze the bank's funds, citing sanctions against Russia. Several member countries have announced their withdrawal from the IIB in protest against the war, and even credit rating agencies are giving the bank negative ratings.

Founded in 1970 to create a possible alternative to the World Bank or the European Investment Bank for the socialist bloc, the Moscow-based IIB ceased operations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was revived in 2012 to support Russia's expanding financial interests. Mykola Kosov, a financier and former diplomat from a family of high-ranking KGB officials, was elected to the post of chairman. However, the bank remained a fairly small institution with paid-up capital of €424,87 million as of January 2022, a few weeks before the Russian invasion. Among the remaining shareholders, in addition to Russia and Hungary, which rejoined the bank in 2015, were Cuba, Mongolia, Vietnam, as well as countries that announced the severance of relations with the IIB last February: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia.

According to one of the bank's internal documents, the withdrawal of member states "destroyed much of what we had achieved in two days". Another document says that it "paralyzed the Bank's activities." These documents are part of a package of internal documents that were already leaked in February of this year. The files were allegedly obtained by an unknown hacker group called "Karma_byt3s" and posted online. The IIB admitted that the financial institution's systems had been breached, but the bank also claimed that the breach had led to the spread of "fake emails".

VSquare and its investigative partners Direkt36, ICJK and Investigace.cz also obtained the documents seized by the hackers, analyzed and compared them with information previously obtained about the bank, and contacted a number of institutions that, according to the documents, were connected to IIB. Cross-examination did not reveal any information that would cast doubt on the likelihood of the documents being leaked. The bank was sent a detailed list of questions, to which the financial institution emphasized that the answers will be provided in full.

No answers were received, but only objections regarding the authenticity of the given documents.

Viktor Orban and Vladimir Putin

The leaked documents, some of which were previously reported by the Hungarian weekly HVG, show not only that the bank was in dire straits because of the war, but also that Hungary was a major ally and supporter of the Russians, who were the majority owners. Officials in Orbán's government have sought to unfreeze funds blocked by the EU, taking steps to avoid direct Western sanctions by planning possible new equity structures that would officially keep Russian ownership below 50 percent. Meanwhile, internal documents and emails show how IIB management planned to avoid payments to four EU member states that left the bank, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine again drew the attention of Western allies to the bank. They were concerned in 2019 when a financial institution previously based in Moscow moved its headquarters to Budapest with the active support of the Orbán government (the bank's affairs were exposed by VSquare and its investigative partners Direkt36, ICJK, Investigace.cz and Atlatszo - Sabolch Panyi (VSquare/Direkt36), Camille Marton, András Pete, András Szabo, Žužanna Wirth (Hungary/Direkt36), Tomasz Madlenák, Lukas Diko (Slovakia/ICJK), Hana Kapová, Zuzana Sotová (Czech Republic/Investigace.cz).

However, the leaked documents show more clearly than ever that the Hungarian government considers cooperation with the Russian-dominated bank extremely important, even at the risk of war, even at the cost of antagonizing its allies in the Visegrad Group.

Months earlier, the IIB had been invited to a conference of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU's financial arm, scheduled for May 2022, but the EIB has now effectively rescinded that invitation. The organizer of the conference told one of the invitees that the presence of IIB staff at the conference "would not be entirely appropriate" in light of "geopolitical events".

Bank employees received the message. One of the top managers of the bank forwarded the letter to his colleague, saying that it is "very difficult to comment on, but it is quite concise and clear." He added that the international community participating in the planned risk management conference "does not want to meet/talk to the IIB". (The EIB has confirmed that they have indeed withdrawn the IIB invitation.)

This episode is a clear sign of the international isolation of the Russian-led bank. But it had bigger problems than canceling the invitation to the conference.

The Czech Republic announced its withdrawal from the IIB on February 25, the day after the war broke out, and called on other EU countries that are members of the bank to do the same. With the exception of Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria followed suit. Despite the fact that these countries announced their withdrawal, the withdrawal process lasted for several months, during which serious tension arose between them and representatives of other countries, primarily the Russians.

European 4 — the four countries that left the bank sent a joint letter to the then head of the IIB, Mykola Kosov, demanding from the bank strict compliance with EU norms and remaining international sanctions against Russia and Belarus, as well as asking the bank's management bodies to take the appropriate decision. The leaked correspondence shows that the bank's management tried to maneuver to avoid a clear position. On the one hand, they considered the proposal of four countries "too political", which Russia would probably block. On the other hand, they believed that a vote against the proposal would give the European Four a trump card because it would mean that the IIB did not want to enforce the sanctions.

The tension surrounding the European 4 is also felt in other areas of the bank's activities. In a letter in late March, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov, who represents Russia on the IIB's Board of Governors, informed the Russian Deputy Energy Minister that the bank would not be able to provide the 1,3 billion rubles needed to complete the planned project. It was about a hydroelectric project in Karelia, Russia. He explained that the members of the European Four who are leaving the bank are still part of the governing bodies of the financial institution and because of their position "it is clear that the bank will not be able to get the necessary permission".

Peter Siyarto and Serhii Lavrov

There has also been tension over the issue of settlement, ie when and how exiting member states will get their capital back. According to the leaked correspondence, the bank's management, after some discussion, concluded that it would be best if the withdrawing countries received nothing, a proposal known as the "zero option". (Bulgaria received 42,2 million euros, the Czech Republic – 37,4 million euros, Romania – 26,1 million euros).

The released letters show that the IIB was hoping for help from the Hungarian government. This is stated in a draft letter signed by Marton Nagy, which claims that Russia did not have undue influence on the bank, as its stake was recently reduced to 45,44 percent. Ironically, the Hungarian minister's draft letter, which claimed that Russia had no decisive influence on the IIB, was corrected during editing by the IIB's deputy chairman in Russia, Georgy Potapov.

Although the Hungarian government has been a steady support for IIB, the bank expects that this will not be enough. In a September email, a Russian employee wrote that he believed there could be a situation where "expropriation of Russian (public/private) assets in the EU" could occur, and "IIB as part of Russian assets could become a subject." In this case, either Russia will have to withdraw from the bank, or the bank will have to leave the EU and move to another place.

"This is, in fact, the reappearance of the wall between the West and Russia. We will be forced, one way or another, to find ourselves on one side of this wall. Or to look for a third geography without such a wall," concludes financial director Oakland in the correspondence, adding that since Hungary is part of the EU, the government's room for maneuver may be reduced here. "This may make it impossible to maintain [the bank's presence] in the EU," the email said.

This dramatic story can be written endlessly. Instead, it is not interesting and too predictable. Russia behaves like a pawn player wherever it is allowed to do so. Those who directly say that such games are a shame, this organization is trying to destroy. Unfortunately, pawns in such scams are conventionally useful "Orbans". We wish the partner countries to get rid of such a legacy, and if they manage to recover their funds, they can safely be called heroes.

The agreement between Hungary and the European Commission regarding EU funds has once again not been concluded

The Hungarian government failed to meet the end-of-March deadline it had pledged to reach an agreement on EU funds, so it is not known when EU funds will reach Hungary, reports Nepszava with reference to sources in the EU. EP representative Istvan Uigheli also published a similar report, according to which the Commission is dissatisfied with 70 percent of the points in question.

István Whaley

The end-of-March deadline for a deal on frozen EU funds has passed, even though negotiations are in the final stages, a Népszava source in the EU monitoring the negotiations said. The commission is still analyzing the package of Hungarian proposals and is still waiting for information on some issues. One such case is the conflict of interests in the boards of trustees of universities that operate in the form of private foundations, which jeopardizes the participation of these institutions in the Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe programs. According to Népszava, next week Tibor Navračić will hold negotiations with the Commissioner for Budget Affairs Johannes Hahn in Brussels. The newspaper reminded that the deadline until the end of March is an obligation of the Hungarian government, therefore its non-compliance does not imply any legal consequences. Thus, the delay does not yet lead to a loss of money. Népszava's source declined to predict when an agreement might be reached.

Istvan Uygeli, the representative of the European Parliament Esély Közösséd, also received information from the European Commission, according to whom Hungary cannot actually receive EU funds until the summer. The politician told ATV broadcasts about how, according to his sources, the government had failed to live up to the committee's expectations of the Recovery Fund or the rule of law mechanism. In total, 27 requirements must be met for payment of EU funds. By the way, sources in the Uigheli committee reported that the committee is not satisfied with either the judicial reform or the creation of the Integrity Authority.

"On a professional level, there are normal negotiations between the government and the Commission, but politician Viktor Orbán has no intention of fulfilling the agreement, because if the Hungarian judiciary regained its independence and functioned properly, it would undoubtedly collapse the system," said Istvan Uygeli. Marton Nagy, the minister responsible for economic development, said EU funds could arrive in Hungary by the summer.

Peter Siyarto, Serhiy Lavrov and the chairman of the board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

It is worth recalling that the EU leadership emphasized that the payment of 5,8 billion euros from the Hungarian post-epidemic recovery fund will begin only after the Orbán government adopts 27 important laws and decisions. Among them, 21 measures related to the fight against corruption are also a condition for the leading role of the rule of law. Four of the six commitments are related to the reform of the judicial system, which, however, was set as a condition not only for access to the recovery instrument, but also for the payment of 22 billion euros in compensation (cohesion funds owed to Hungary for seven years ). In this context, the National Judicial Council should be given more powers, the independence of the Court should be strengthened, obstacles for judges who can turn to the Court of Justice of the EU with requests for decisions should be removed, and the possibility of the authorities to challenge final judicial decisions in the Constitutional Court should be eliminated After long negotiations, the government sent the corresponding draft laws to Brussels, which are still under negotiation.

The Russian ambassador in Budapest complains that Hungary has become unfriendly and promised measures in response

For the second time in a month, the Kremlin has made it clear that it is outraged by Orbán's government.

Russia has officially added Hungary to the list of unfriendly countries - emphasized the Russian ambassador to Hungary in an interview RIA Novosti.

Yevhen Stanislavov said that Hungary takes a pragmatic position, which will not budge even under pressure from the EU and NATO. In his opinion, Hungary's policy is based on the protection of its interests, but as a diplomat he feels the negative consequences of the "Ukrainian crisis" and EU and US sanctions. "Hungary has signed the entire package of anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union and is forced to strictly implement them. Therefore, it is considered a country unfriendly to Russia. All this means that we can even apply retaliatory measures," the ambassador said. He is sure that the sanctions have a negative impact on the cooperation between the two countries in the economy, politics, culture and even human relations. "Recently, this increasingly interferes with the normal work of the embassy. But we are still optimistic, we strive for constructive cooperation with Hungary, Stanislavov said. He added that he would like to maintain the positive results of recent years.

The Russian ambassador's interview marked the second time in a month that the Kremlin has expressed its displeasure with the Orbán government simply because Hungary is meeting the obligations of its EU and NATO membership. On March 3, Russia suspended the 22-year-old agreement with Hungary that "citizens of both countries with diplomatic or service passports have the right to enter, leave, pass through and stay in the territory of the other country without a visa for 90 days." After its publication, a message was received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which draws attention to the fact that "from April 4, 2022, Russia requires EU diplomatic passport holders to obtain a Russian visa in advance in response to the fact that the European Union ceased to exist on February 28, 2022 several points of the Agreement on the simplification of the visa regime between the EU and Russia". It seems that the fact that the Russians decided on Hungary from March 1, 2023 may indicate that they made an exception for the Hungarians because of their good relations up to now.

The Russians have been calling Hungary an unfriendly country for many years. It is striking that a year later this is emphasized again with palpable irritation, as if there was some kind of break in Hungarian-Russian relations. All this is somewhat ironic, since the Orbán government is extremely keen on good relations with the Putin regime. The fact that the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Sijarto visited Russia several times after the Russians invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 at the behest of President Vladimir Putin is an eloquent testimony to this, instead he did not visit Kyiv, as did the Prime Minister - Minister Viktor Orban, despite the invitation.

Stanislavov called the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Peter Sijarto, that Germany blocks the issuance of necessary permits for the construction of new blocks in Thick II with RosAtom, which is an attack on Hungary's sovereignty.

Paksh-II NPP

"Peace in Ukraine is possible only on the terms determined by Ukraine," said the Estonian ambassador in Budapest

The way the conflict in Ukraine ends will determine the future of Europe for a long time. A condition for lasting peace is the expulsion and impeachment of the Russians, as well as the Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, — about this said Raul Thomas, the ambassador of Estonia in Budapest, according to him, only those who started wars support the war.

According to the diplomat, the history of Estonia is very similar to the history of Ukraine, as both suffered from Russian occupation for more than 50 years. The Estonian people remember what it means to be captured by an aggressive neighbor and realize that peace in itself does not always mean freedom. Ukraine's victory is also important for ending the endless cycle of Russian wars of aggression. Peace in Europe will depend for a long time on how the war in Ukraine ends. Russian aggression against Ukraine showed that Ukraine cannot be neutral and a source of conflicts and instability, there are so-called "gray zones" in Europe. Ukraine has a place in the European Union, and after the war in NATO.

Some seem to want to divide political leaders into two categories regarding the war in Ukraine: pro-war and pro-peace.

Estonia is pro-Ukrainian. We support international law, the UN Charter and the commitments we have made to uphold and protect it. We also stand for accountability and do not for one second support other countries invading their neighbors and killing innocent people. Peace in Ukraine is possible only on the conditions that Ukraine will set, and only if Ukraine wants it. In the "war" or "peace" dichotomy, only those who started the war are truly in favor of the war. Estonia supports peace talks, but only if they take place on Ukraine's terms, with full respect for its independence and territorial borders.

Estonia is the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine per capita.

Raul Toomas emphasized that the future of Ukraine depends on the security and stability of Estonia and the region.

"In addition, aggression against a sovereign state in the heart of Europe threatens the security of all of Europe and our values. Our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine is unwavering, and we will continue to provide comprehensive assistance to Ukraine until it wins the war," the ambassador emphasized.

In cooperation with Germany, Estonia transferred to Ukraine two field hospitals and medical equipment worth almost 15 million euros, a third field hospital in cooperation with the Netherlands and Norway, which supported the 7,8 million euro project.

Estonia's latest aid package covers semi-automatic rifles, sniper rifles, scopes, binoculars, ammunition, personal and special equipment, patrol boats and thermal imaging, medical equipment. The total cost of military aid is 494 euros. In total, Estonia provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the amount of over 300 million euros and assistance in the field of development and reconstruction in the amount of 23,1 million euros.

The Prime Minister of Slovenia was in Kyiv the other day Robert Golob delivered a speech in Ukrainian, declaring: "This war was unprovoked and unnecessary, it was imposed on us all, but now it has united us, today we are all Ukrainians. Your flag is now our flag. In Slovenia, we hang it in front of all government institutions, including in front of my office. Let me remind you that today we are more connected than ever. Together with you, we are of the Cossack race. Together with us, you will once again "rule in your side". "Glory to Ukraine", at the same time Viktor Orban said that Western leaders are increasingly talking about the possibility of sending peacekeepers. Instead, who exactly is conducting these negotiations and at what level - the Prime Minister of Hungary did not specify, and it is unlikely that anyone authorized him. It seems that the military defeats of his comrade Putin are forcing him to take such actions.

Maryna Kovalchuk, own correspondent Newsky (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland), project manager V5 Media