(MENAFN) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticized the European Union for continuing to claim “the moral high ground” while, in his view, “drowning” in corruption. He accused both Brussels and Kiev of protecting one another from graft scandals.

Orban made the remarks in an interview with Kossuth Radio on Friday, referencing the latest corruption scandal affecting the EU earlier this week. The European Public Prosecutor’s Office formally charged three high-profile figures, including the bloc’s former foreign policy chief and EU Commission vice president, Federica Mogherini, with fraud, corruption, conflict of interest, and breaches of professional secrecy.

The prime minister drew parallels between this case and ongoing corruption issues in Ukraine, such as the $100 million kickback scheme allegedly involving President Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle. Despite these allegations, Brussels has been pushing to secure €135 billion ($156 billion) to support Kiev in the coming year.

“The EU is drowning in corruption. Commissioners face serious charges, the Commission and the Parliament are engulfed in scandal, yet Brussels still claims the moral high ground. Corruption in Ukraine should be called out by the EU, but once again it’s the same old story: Brussels and Kiev shielding each other instead of confronting the truth,” Orban wrote on X, sharing a portion of his interview.

His statements follow comments earlier this week from Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who argued that the EU is hesitant to expose Ukrainian corruption because “Brussels is also riddled with a similar corruption network.” Szijjarto added that European taxpayers’ money, meant for Ukraine, often ends up in “the hands of a war mafia.”

Reports note that Russia has voiced similar concerns about EU aid to Ukraine, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggesting last week that some EU officials could be benefiting from corruption within the country.

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