Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that if the EU does not approve the decision to start accession negotiations with Ukraine due to the Hungarian blockade, it would imply that Russian President Vladimir Putin directly imposed a veto on this decision.

The president noted at a press conference in Oslo, answering questions from the press about Hungary's expected veto at the EU summit, that Ukraine has done everything to prevent any country from blocking the start of negotiations, but "there is a block from Hungary, and that is a fact."

"On our part, we have been very constructive; we have done everything, absolutely everything, complied with all the recommendations of the European Commission, all the recommendations of our partners, and all the recommendations for adapting even those laws that received conclusions from the Venice Commission," the president stated. 

He emphasised that the issue here is solely the resilience of EU countries and suggested that the absence of a positive outcome at the EU summit would be a victory for Russia, demonstrating that Russia can veto EU decisions. 

"This year, Russia has had no victories; they couldn't achieve anything. They were unable to occupy any villages... But they started working with countries not only in Europe but also with countries on many continents and pressuring them. Therefore, if there is no positive result... if there is no positivity there, it will indicate that Putin has vetoed this decision," said Zelenskyy.

Earlier on Wednesday, during parliamentary debates on the resolution project concerning Ukraine, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán explained why he decided to block the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Orbán believes that, in practice, Kyiv did not fulfil the conditions necessary to commence the negotiations.

On 12 December, the Hungarian Prime Minister referred to survey data from a pro-government analytical centre, justifying his decision to block the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union at the EU summit.