Ukraine moves closer to joining the EU

But Hungary blocks aid package as US also fails to agree on funds

The European Union failed to agree yesterday on a € 50 billion package in financial aid that Ukraine desperately needs to stay afloat, even as the bloc decided to open accession negotiations with the war- torn country.

The aid was vetoed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, delivering another tough blow to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he failed this week to persuade US lawmakers to approve an additional US$ 61 billion ($ 98.1b) for Ukraine, mainly to buy weapons from the US.

The start of accession talks was a momentous moment and stunning reversal for a country at war that had struggled to find the backing for its membership aspirations and long faced obstinate opposition from Orban.

Hungary’s leader decided not to veto the accession talks, but then blocked the aid package.

“I can inform you that 26 leaders agreed on the ( budget negotiation),” European Council President Charles Michel said. “I should be very precise. One leader, Sweden, needs to consult its parliament, which is in line with the usual procedure for this country, and one leader couldn’t agree.”

The decisions required unanimity among the EU’s members.

Still, Michel, who was chairing the Brussels summit, called the start of accession talks “a clear signal of hope for their people and our continent.”

Although the process between opening negotiations and Ukraine finally becoming a member could take many years, Zelenskyy welcomed the agreement as “a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe”.

“History i s made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom,” Zelenskyy said.

The financial package could not be endorsed after Orban vetoed both the extra money and a review of the EU budget. Ukraine is badly counting on the funds to help its damaged economy survive in the coming year.

Michel said leaders would reconvene in January in an effort to break the deadlock.

Orban had warned before the summit that forcing a decision on the Ukraine i ssues could destroy EU unity. Decisions on enlarging the EU and on a review of its long- term budget, which contains the € 50 billion ($ 88.4b) in aid for the government in Kyiv, must be unanimous among all 27 member countries.

The news came as Putin said there would be no peace in Ukraine until the Kremlin realises its goals, which remain unchanged after nearly two years of fighting that has sent tensions soaring between Moscow and the West.

Speaking at a year- end news conference that lasted over four hours and offered him an opportunity to reinforce his grip on power, Putin gave some rare details on what Moscow calls its “special military operation”.

He dismissed the need for a second wave of mobilisation of reservists to fight in Ukraine — a move that has been deeply unpopular. He said there are some 617,000 Russian soldiers there, including about 244,000 troops who were called up to fight alongside professional military forces.

“There will be peace when we will achieve our goals,” Putin said, repeating a frequent Kremlin line.

“Victory will be ours.”

Putin highlighted Russian military gains in Ukraine as the conflict’s second winter approached.

Putin, who has held power for nearly 24 years and announced last week he is running for re- election, was greeted with applause as he arrived in the hall in central Moscow. He didn’t hold his traditional news conference last year after his military failed to take Kyiv and as the Ukrainian army retook territory in the east and south.

Meanwhile in the US, Congress was departing Washington yesterday without a deal to pass wartime support for Ukraine.

But Senate negotiators and President Joe Biden’s administration were still racing to wrap up a border security compromise to unlock the stalemate before the end of the year.

The Senate planned to come back next week in hopes of passing the US$ 110 billion ($ 177b) package of aid for Ukraine, Israel and other national security and finalising a deal to place new restrictions on asylum claims at the US border.

But the House showed no sign of returning to push the legislation through the full Congress.

Lawmakers leaving the impasse unresolved through the holidays would mean the Biden administration would have to rely on a dwindling supply of funds for Ukraine.

Repelling Russia has been one of Biden’s chief foreign policy goals. But the Democratic president is facing stiff opposition from Republicans in Congress — both from populist conservatives who no longer want to fund the nearly two- year- old conflict and GOP senators who have been traditional allies to Ukraine’s defence but insist that the US also enact policies aimed at cutting the historic number of migrants who are arriving at the US border with Mexico.

In an earlier speech on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the deadlock in Congress has left “Putin mocking our resolve”. He cast the decisions facing lawmakers as a potential turning point of history: “There is too much on the line for Ukraine, for America, for Western democracy, to throw in the towel right now.”

History is made by those who don’t get tired of fighting for freedom

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President