European Union leaders unexpectedly agreed on Thursday to open membership talks with Ukraine, something Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for weeks had vowed to block.
EU diplomats and officials said Orban agreed to leave the room, knowing the other leaders would go ahead and vote on Ukraine.
Orban confirmed on Facebook that he had abstained from the vote on what he called a “bad decision”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy welcomed the decision.
“This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens,” he said.
Ukraine badly needs support from its Western allies in its nearly two-year fight against Moscow’s invasion. Its counter-offensive has failed to make major gains and the Biden administration has so far been unable to get a $60 billion aid package for Kyiv through the U.S. Congress.
European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said it was “a strategic decision and a day that will remain engraved in the history of our Union.”
Hungary’s Orban had very different words to describe the decision.
