Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened on Friday to block the next rollover of EU sanctions against Russia unless Brussels helps achieve a restart of Russian gas transit via Ukraine, which was halted on Jan.

It won’t break me, though.”Whether Nad is incarcerated for helping Ukraine or not, his predicament already shines a light on how leaders in a pocket of the continent are emerging to break unity with the European Union and NATO and offering Russian President Vladimir Putin convenient allies at a critical time.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was optimistic about U.S. pressure on Moscow to end Russia’s all-out war on Ukraine, according to a new interview, though he said he thought President Donald Trump was unclear how to do that.

The Budapest Memorandum was not a logical decision, according to a statement by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview for the Il Foglio newspaper. During the interview, Zelenskyy recalled a conversation with US President Donald Trump regarding the Budapest Memorandum,

Ukraine's possible accession to the EU poses serious risks, he said. "This could have unpredictable and irreversible consequences, drastically change the European agricultural sector and significantly reduce agricultural subsidies, causing Hungarian farmers to go bankrupt. We will not allow that to happen!" Nagy said.

The remaining pipe bringing Russian gas to the bloc is the TurkStream line through Turkey, which provides Hungary with about 7.5 billion cubic metres of gas. Budapest, along with the pro-Russian government in Slovakia, have been lobbying the EU to pressure Ukraine into restarting the gas transit.

"It was necessary to exchange (nuclear arms) for real security guarantees, and at the time, that was only NATO. And to be honest, today, it is only NATO," President Zelensky said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Foglio.

Hungary wants the European Union to intervene in a gas dispute it has with Ukraine, a potential sign of friction in the bloc's upcoming discussions over renewing sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine's evolving search for security guarantees reflects hard-learned lessons from the Budapest Memorandum, with bilateral agreements offering hope yet raising critical uncertainties. Since gaining independence, Ukraine has been engaged in a constant ...

Vladimir Putin discussed Ukraine's sovereignty and its reliance on Western support in a recent interview, questioning Zelenskyy's leadership legitimacy.

In an interview, Zelenskyy discusses the Budapest Memorandum, highlighting the need for solid security assurances after Ukraine surrendered its nuclear arsenal.

Viktor Orban reiterated that the Hungarian government still favors a negotiated settlement of the Ukrainian conflict