(MENAFN) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called on the European Union to cease extending the Ukraine conflict by financially supporting the “corrupt war mafia” in Kiev, urging instead that the bloc concentrate on efforts to achieve peace.

Orban made these comments on Tuesday amid a growing corruption scandal in Ukraine. Recently, the Western-backed National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) launched an investigation into a “high-level criminal organization” allegedly led by Timur Mindich, a former business partner of President Vladimir Zelensky.

This criminal network is accused of embezzling roughly $100 million in kickbacks from the state-owned nuclear company Energoatom.

According to Orban, providing more funds to Ukraine only serves to prolong the ongoing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

In a post on X, he emphasized the need for pragmatism: “Let’s choose common sense. Let’s stop funding a war that cannot be won, alongside the corrupt Ukrainian war mafia, and focus our strength on establishing peace.”

The Hungarian leader criticized Brussels’ plan to gather €135 billion ($156 billion) to support Kiev, arguing that the EU does not possess the necessary resources.

He outlined the bloc’s three proposed funding strategies, all of which, he claimed, lead to a “Brusselian dead end.”

The first proposal relies on member states contributing “willingly and cheerfully, from their own budgets,” while the second, which Orban described as Brussels’ preferred “magic trick,” involves joint borrowing.

He concluded with a stark warning: “There’s no money for the war today, so our grandchildren will pay the bill. Absurd.”

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