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The Hungarian leader says a pipeline carrying Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary must be repaired before any funds can be released.
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"No oil = no money," Orbán said in a post on X after Thursday's summit in Brussels during which he refused to lift his veto, citing a feud over a damaged pipeline that transports Russian oil to Hungary.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Orbán's actions amounted to "a gross act of disloyalty", while European Council head António Costa described them as tantamount to "blackmail".
Orbán - who has maintained close ties with Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion in Ukraine in 2022 - has made hostility towards Ukraine a key issue ahead of elections on 12 April.
Hungary depends on Russian energy and Orbán has accused Ukraine of disrupting these energy supplies by failing to repair a Soviet-era pipeline, called Druzhba, which carries Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia through Ukraine.
Kyiv says the pipeline was damaged in January by Russian air strikes, that its repair will last for weeks - but also that restoring the flow of oil would be equivalent to lifting sanctions on Moscow.
While the pipeline remains out of use, Orbán has blocked the release of EU funds to Ukraine - despite approving the decision at an earlier meeting.
The gathering of EU leaders on Thursday, which went late into the night, ended with many expressing statements of thinly-veiled fury at Orbán's actions.
"Colleagues who have been members of the European Council far longer than I have were deeply angered by what happened today," Germany's Merz told reporters during a news conference in the early hours of Friday.
"It is a gross act of disloyalty within the European Union," he said. "I am firmly convinced that it will leave deep marks."
France's President Emmanuel Macron called the meeting's outcome "unprecedented", adding that the loan's release must be "implemented without delay".
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