Hungary has filed a lawsuit against the European Union over the use of billions of euros in interest from frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, a case formally accepted by the European Court of Justice on August 25.
The legal challenge targets last year’s decision by the Council of the EU to allocate military aid to Ukraine through the European Peace Facility (EPF), the bloc’s primary defense assistance mechanism. Implemented in February, the decision directs 99.7% of interest payments from frozen Russian assets—roughly €3–5 billion ($3.5–5.8 billion) annually—toward Ukraine, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Hungary, widely considered the EU’s most Kremlin-friendly government, has repeatedly blocked aid for Ukraine, opposed sanctions on Russia, and resisted Kyiv’s EU accession talks.
At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Western countries froze about $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets, two-thirds of which are held in the EU. Budapest now seeks to annul the EPF decision, arguing the facility broke the law by ignoring Hungary’s veto as it is not a “contributing member state,” and is also requesting the EU cover legal costs.
The court process may take years, and EU funding could continue under the Ukraine Facility instrument. Hungary previously filed a similar lawsuit in June 2024 challenging EPF support to Ukraine, which is still pending.
Since Russia’s 2022 invasion, the EU and its member states have provided nearly $186 billion in financial, military, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including €12.8 billion via the EPF.
The dispute comes amid rising tensions between Kyiv and Budapest, following Ukrainian drone strikes on the Russian Druzhba pipeline, which also supplies oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
