Orbán asked Putin about punishing Hungary over EU using Russian frozen asset

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin about his possible reaction to the European Union using the frozen Russian assets. Orbán, on his way to Brussels, said that he sent a letter to the Russian President seeking his response. He asked whether Putin would take into account the position of the individual member states. The matter of frozen Russian assets as a "reparations loan" to Ukraine will be discussed in the upcoming EU summit.

Orbán has supposedly received a response which indicated that Russia will not take the "reparations loan" of Russian assets to Ukraine easily, and there would be a “strong reaction” from Russia. It would take into account the positions of individual member states. Orbán has also reiterated that even if the EU nations vote for using the frozen Russian funds, Hungary will not support the decision. He also cribbed about the European Union stripping “Hungary of its rights” and violating the principle of "loyal cooperation".

Viktor Orbán's Hungary and the European Union have been at a crossroads since 2018, with discussion about suspending Hungary’s EU membership rights due to serious and continuous violations of European values. In November 2025, the European Union voted in favour of sanctions on Hungary for descending into an electoral autocracy, despite the parliament being dominated by the right and the Patriots for Europe, funded by Viktor Orbán himself. Orbán did not take the decision well, and he does "not consider the principles of loyal cooperation to be binding" in the sanctions debate.