Ukraine mocks Orbán: “Russia’s most valuable frozen asset in Europe”

EU governments agreed on Friday to freeze Russian central bank assets in Europe indefinitely, according to Reuters.

The decision covers about 210 billion euros held after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Until now, the freeze required renewal every six months. Making it open-ended removes the risk that countries such as Hungary or Slovakia could block an extension, potentially forcing the assets to be returned to Russia.

Brussels views Russia’s invasion as a direct security threat and sees continued financing of Ukraine as essential to Europe’s own defence.

Legal and political pushback

Russia’s central bank said the plans were illegal and confirmed it is suing Euroclear in Moscow courts, a claim dismissed by EU officials.

And Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticised the move, saying it would cause “irreparable damage” to the EU.

Orbán has been a vocal critic of the plans to seize the frozen Russian assets – and that hasn’t gone unnoticed in Ukraine.

Foreign Minister mocks Orbán

Saturday, Orbán posted a video of himself being interviewed, where he claimed that the seizing of the Russian assets would be the same as a decleration of war.

Orbán has repeatedly argued against further sanctions on Russia, claiming that additional sanctions is not the way to bring peace to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, however decided to take a jab at the Hungarian PM, who is pursuing reelection in April.

Reposting Orbáns video, Sybiha simply added: “Russia’s most valuable frozen asset in Europe”.

This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation