Finnish President Alexander Stubb accused Hungary and Slovakia on Thursday of funding the Kremlin’s “war machine” by buying Russian oil and gas, in one of his sharpest rebukes yet of the fellow EU members.
Standing alongside Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, Stubb said the crossing of Russian drones into Poland showed Moscow was “seeking escalation” with NATO and that Europe needed to put further pressure on Russia.
“As far as getting our own house in order, I think (US) President (Donald) Trump, when he says that Europe needs to stop buying Russian oil and gas, is right,” Stubb told reporters at a press conference.
“The finger points in two places. One is Hungary and the other one is Slovakia. And, of course, we make sure that President Trump is aware of who is feeding the Russian war machine by buying Russian energy,” he added.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s Robert Fico have both criticised European aid for Ukraine and sought closer ties with Russia, to the frustration of Brussels, which is seeking to isolate Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
Orban and Fico, whose countries lead the European Union in Russian and oil and gas imports, have both travelled to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
