This comes as Hungary and Slovakia block the 20th sanctions package against Russia and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also threatens to veto the EU's €90 billion loan to Ukraine.
Ukraine needs this money, said a frustrated Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenegard (M) in connection with the EU foreign ministers' meeting on Monday, adding that the situation will become "sharp" in April as Kyiv's coffers run out.
After many twists and turns and a lot of hassle from several countries, we landed on this loan and now, I expect the countries to stand behind it.
A game of foxes?
It was in December that EU heads of state and government agreed on the model for the giant loan, which was then hammered out by the European Parliament. But there are still some technicalities to be ironed out, including the need for a legal text to be approved unanimously. This is where Hungary's Orbán could veto it.
Formally, pro-Russian Budapest is referring to anger over a broken Russian oil pipeline, which runs through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. The Druzhba pipeline was damaged in a Russian attack on January 27, and Budapest and Bratislava are now accusing Ukraine of delaying repairs.
Diplomats in Brussels, however, claim that this is a game of foxes on the part of Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, writes Politico. The two countries are the only ones that have exemptions from the EU's import ban on Russian oil. They have also been granted an exemption in the model for the €90 billion loan, which means that they are not burdened.
Meets Zelenskyy
During the anniversary, Commission President von der Leyen and Council President Costa will attend a memorial ceremony in Kyiv, visit an energy facility damaged in a Russian attack, and meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
They will also attend a meeting with the "Coalition of the Willing", a group of countries that support Ukraine, of which Sweden is a member.
Zelenskyy will also speak via video link at an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament.
