(Photo by Martin Schulz via Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
On May 9, 2025, Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, visited Moscow. He was the only European Union (EU) leader to attend a Russian parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s defeat. In fact, Fico’s support for Russia is well-known. He previously visited Moscow in December 2024, where he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “wrongly demonised by the West.”
Unfortunately, Slovakia is not the only EU government supporting Russia in its war of aggression. Viktor Orbán, prime minister of Hungary, also visited Moscow in 2024 and met with Putin. Orbán’s government has repeatedly blocked or forced reductions to EU aid for Ukraine. Hungary has also maintained close relations with Belarus, a staunch Russian ally that has aided Russia in its invasion and remains under EU sanctions. Hungary has even called for the EU to remove its sanctions on Belarus. These two governments stand in stark opposition to the position of the EU as a whole, which has supported Ukraine in defending against Russia’s war of aggression.
How Does the EU Support Ukraine?
Since the escalation of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, the EU and most of its member countries have given military, economic, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. The EU has also taken in millions of Ukrainian refugees and pledged funding for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction. As of May 5, 2025, the EU and its member states have collectively provided over US$200 billion in aid to Ukraine. This aid package includes US$158 billion in wartime aid and an additional $54 billion committed to reconstruction aid. The EU has also aided the Ukrainian economy by allowing the export of millions of tonnes of food through EU territory.
How is EU Support for Ukraine Souring?
Unfortunately, some EU countries, such as Slovakia and Hungary, are obstructing EU support for Ukraine. In addition to repeatedly voting down aid, Hungary recently launched a smear campaign against Ukraine. This campaign labelled Ukraine as a hotspot of crime and urged Hungarians to vote against Ukrainian accession to the EU. This campaign, built upon lies from the Hungarian government, actively vilifies Ukrainians and the Ukrainian government.
Slovakia and Hungary have also rejected the EU’s plan to completely phase out Russian gas imports by 2027, which would deny Moscow a crucial revenue stream to fund its war in Ukraine. Russia has used its gas imports as leverage in its relations with the EU, which have worsened in recent years. Diversifying away from Russian natural gas would deny Russia this leverage.
More shockingly, in January 2025, Slovakia directly threatened Ukraine with sanctions after Kyiv refused to renew a contract that would allow Russian gas to pass through the country. This threat shows that Slovakia’s government, under Prime Minister Fico, remains uninterested in diversifying away from Russian natural gas. As many Russian resource companies are state-owned, they share their revenues with the Russian government. Therefore, Slovakia and Hungary will be directly funding Putin’s war in Ukraine should they continue to buy Russian gas past 2027.
Why are Some EU Countries Souring on Supporting Ukraine?
One reason for the waning support of EU countries for Ukraine is economics. Although many EU countries have made significant efforts to divest from Russian natural gas, other countries such as Slovakia, Hungary, and Greece continue to import substantial volumes of Russian gas. Slovakia claims that stopping Russian gas would damage the EU’s economy, as Russian natural gas is cheaper than natural gas from other sources. However, the European Commission maintains that stopping Russian gas would “have a limited impact” on energy prices.
Another reason could be the flagging popularity of these leaders. For example, experts have hypothesised that Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán launched his smear campaign against Ukrainians to distract from domestic issues and claims of corruption in his government ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections next year. Through demonising Ukraine and the EU’s support for the country, Orbán may be hoping that voters will focus their discontent on the EU instead of his policies.
Parties in other countries also use the tactic of uniting people around a common enemy. For example, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)—which placed second in the country’s recent elections—has been pro-Russia since before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It advocates cutting German military aid to Ukraine entirely.
Pro-Russia parties have become commonplace across Europe: another example is Austria’s far-right Freedom Party, which came first in the country’s parliamentary elections last year on an anti-immigration, anti-Ukraine-aid platform. In general, these parties vote against condemning or sanctioning Russia regarding its actions in Ukraine and oppose further European military support for Ukraine’s defence against Russia.
Additionally, Russian disinformation campaigns have played a role in promoting pro-Russian sentiment in EU member states. These campaigns discredit Ukraine, its government, and its war effort, ultimately aiming to decrease Western aid to Ukraine. Russian propaganda has also helped to boost pro-Russian parties such as the AfD in Germany.
Popular Efforts to Support Ukraine
Despite Hungary and Slovakia’s governments standing with Russia in its war of aggression, there have been popular efforts in these countries in support of Ukraine. Prime Minister Fico’s repeated visits to Moscow drew large-scale protests across the country calling on him to resign. These protestors declared that the Slovakian people stand in solidarity with Europe against Russia.
Additionally, after Slovakia’s government blocked aid to Ukraine, Slovaks instead raised money themselves to send to Ukraine. This act shows that even if individual governments have become pro-Russian, the people of these countries can still oppose their governments’ actions in a visible and tangible manner.
Opposition parties in Hungary and Ukraine have posed a clear contrast to the ruling parties in their country in their stance on Ukraine. For example, the leader of Hungary’s biggest opposition party, Péter Magyar, visited and delivered crowd-funded aid to Ukraine after Russia bombed a children’s hospital there. Michal Šimečka, the leader of Slovakia’s biggest opposition party, even met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv after Prime Minister Fico turned down Zelenskyy’s invitation.
With parliamentary elections expected in both countries in 2026 and 2027, respectively, there is a chance for these countries to oust their pro-Russian governments. Notably, both countries’ ruling parties are currently trailing in polls to their main opposition rivals.
What Can the EU Do To Continue Supporting Ukraine?
The EU itself can also prevent gridlock and ensure continued support for Ukraine, which remains popular across the bloc. One way to do this is to remove the requirement for unanimity from all remaining EU votes, instead replacing it with a ‘qualified majority.’ Under this system, countries comprising 65% of the EU’s population and 55% of member states would need to vote in favour for a motion to pass. This reform could prevent a tiny number of EU countries from obstructing aid that is supported by a majority of countries and EU residents, like Hungary did in December 2023.
Regardless, both the EU and its residents are not powerless. Through both grassroots efforts and administrative changes, the EU is continuing to stand with Ukraine despite pro-Russian opposition. This support remains critical in ensuring that Ukraine has the necessary resources to defend itself against Russia.
Edited by Melanie Miles
