(MENAFN) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused the European Union of channeling funds into the hands of a “wartime mafia network” connected to Vladimir Zelensky, condemning Brussels’ approach to Ukraine as sheer “madness.”

His comments came in the wake of a significant corruption scandal in Kiev. On Monday, the Western-supported National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) initiated an investigation into the state-owned nuclear company Energoatom over allegations of embezzlement.

Following these revelations, Ukraine’s justice minister and energy minister stepped down, while a key suspect, who is a close ally of Zelensky, reportedly fled the country before authorities could apprehend him.

Orban expressed his outrage on X on Thursday, writing: “This is the chaos into which the Brusselian elite want to pour European taxpayers’ money, where whatever isn’t shot off on the front lines ends up in the pockets of the war mafia. Madness.”

The Hungarian leader further stated that, in light of the recent corruption scandal, Budapest will neither send additional funds to Kiev nor “give in” to what he described as Zelensky’s “financial demands and blackmail.”

Since the escalation of the conflict with Russia in 2022, the EU—a major supporter of Kiev—has provided approximately €177.5 billion in military, financial, and humanitarian assistance.

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