An ’emboldened Putin’ … meets with the Russian and international press and promises victory in his first formal news conference that Western media were allowed to attend since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022 (AP and international wire services)
Hungary vetoes the European Union’s allocation of 50 billion euros to Ukraine and acts to block entrance into the EU…
NYT / December 14 – Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said that all but one of the E.U.’s 27 countries backed the package of 50 billion euros, about $52 billion, in financial support for Ukraine… “One leader couldn’t agree on this,” Mr. Michel said… referring to Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary. He said leaders would reconvene early next month to try to reach unanimous agreement, which is required for the plan to go through.
The Orban dissent has also carried across the Atlantic —
