Former Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro, who is under investigation, has been granted political asylum in Hungary. The move has heightened tensions between Warsaw's new government and its conservative predecessors.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán postponed the announcement of the Fidesz party's candidate until February, despite falling ratings. Sociological surveys show Fidesz trailing the opposition for the first time in 15 years.
Tarr's distinctive features were long, hypnotic shots. His career ended after the release of "The Turin Horse" in 2011.
In Hungary, the burials of three elite warriors, approximately 1,100 years old, have been discovered, with DNA analysis confirming their paternal kinship. The men were buried in the 920s or 930s, likely after participating in military campaigns in Italy.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban believes that the European Union will collapse on its own, but his country will not leave the EU. He also stated that he would not give money to Ukraine because "Ukrainians will not give it back."
After the New Year holidays, the longest queues at the border are observed in the Polish direction, which complicates crossing for drivers and passengers. The State Border Guard Service advises taking into account the possible unstable operation of electronic systems of control services at checkpoints.
In early January 2026, the capacity for electricity imports from the EU to Ukraine-Moldova increased to 2450 MW. This was the result of cooperation between transmission system operators and increases the resilience of Ukraine's energy system.
The acting head of the internal control department of the Zakarpattia customs was detained for organizing the illegal import of luxury watches without paying customs duties. The official received 3,850 US dollars for importing watches worth over 3.2 million UAH.
Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba summarized the results of 2025 in the transport industry, noting an increase in seats on international trains and the launch of the Eurotrack. The "transport visa-free regime" with the EU was extended, and digital systems such as eCherha and e-TTN were introduced.
Russian pipeline gas exports to Europe in 2025 decreased by 44% to 18 billion cubic meters, which is the lowest figure since the mid-1970s. This happened after the closure of the Ukrainian route and the cessation of fossil fuel imports from Russia.
The Serbian government has supported negotiations between NIS's Russian owners and Hungarian MOL regarding the sale of a controlling stake. The aim of the deal is to remove the country's largest energy company from under US sanctions.
Ukraine has successfully held its first joint auctions for allocating cross-border interconnection capacity with Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Electricity imports from the EU will become more predictable, and supplies will begin in January.
The Hungarian Prime Minister believes that Brussels allegedly "does not want peace between Russia and Ukraine. "
The draw for the group stage of the 2026/2027 Nations League will take place on February 12, 2026, in Brussels. The Ukrainian national team will compete in League B.
On December 19, the European Union approved €90 billion in funding for Ukraine, which the country will repay after receiving reparations from Russia. Journalists found out how this process took place.
Large-scale schemes for illegal border crossing by conscripts have been exposed in four regions of Ukraine. The organizers transported men to Moldova and Hungary for tens of thousands of dollars, and also issued fictitious disability documents.
A Politico columnist predicts that the Russian-Ukrainian war will end next year on terms extremely unfavorable to Ukraine. This is due to the EU's inability to agree on the use of frozen Russian assets and insufficient funding.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni put more than 270 state gifts up for auction, including python skin shoes and an iPad from Zelenskyy. The total value of the lots is about 800,000 euros, and the sale is due to a law prohibiting keeping gifts worth more than 300 euros.
On the eve of the holidays, there is a significant increase in passenger and transport traffic at the border with Ukraine. In one day, 15,000 more people entered Ukraine than left.
President Zelenskyy stated that Viktor Orban is blocking Ukraine's EU accession due to an election campaign, realizing that membership is a guarantee of security. Kyiv and EU leaders consider membership in the bloc a strong security factor.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused EU officials of wanting to harm Russia, comparing it to Hitler's Germany's invasion of the USSR. He stated that Europeans want to use the war in Ukraine to weaken Russia, seeing it as a threat.
Hungarian state energy company MVM Group and Romanian E. ON Group have mutually agreed to terminate the agreement for the acquisition of a 68% stake in E.ON Energie Romania and a 98% stake in E.ON Asist. The Romanian government did not support the deal due to concerns about MVM's ties with Russia.
EU taxpayers will pay €3 billion annually in interest on a loan to finance Ukraine's defense. The new plan will provide Ukraine with €45 billion next year, with the remaining funds to be paid in 2027.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha responded to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who could not name the culprit of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Sybiha compared Hungary's position to the situation in 1939, when the country was an ally of Nazi Germany.
Czech Defense Minister Jaromír Zuna confirmed the continuation of the ammunition initiative for Ukraine until 2026. Funding has been secured for the purchase of 760,000 shells, and support for Ukraine is "a matter of course."
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that he managed to prevent "a declaration of war on Russia" by allocating a 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine. In response, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski ironically "awarded" Orban the Order of Lenin.
The head of the European People's Party, Manfred Weber, stated that frozen Russian assets will be used to repay loans that the EU provides to Ukraine. He rejected US proposals for asset sharing, emphasizing that Russia must pay for its actions.
Hungarian Prime Minister and Putin's "friend" Orban in Brussels criticized the Western approach to supporting Kyiv, calling the hope for future reparations from Russia an illusion. He also stated that Hungary managed to avoid the risk of using frozen Russian assets.
EU leaders agreed on a plan to finance Ukraine through joint borrowing after 16 hours of negotiations. Politico named Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever as the main "winners" of the summit.
The European Council decided to allocate 90 billion euros in funding to Ukraine for 2026-2027. The funds will be based on EU borrowings without the use of Russian assets and without the involvement of the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia.
