German defence minister slams Hungarian blockade of EU military aid

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius criticized Hungary for blocking further military aid to Ukraine at a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels on Tuesday.
Pistorius said he was "somewhat disappointed or irritated by the behaviour of Hungarian friends" for blocking the aid.
The move comes after Ukraine included Hungary's largest bank OTP in a list of supporters of Russia's invasion, prompting outrage from Budapest.
A Hungarian government spokesman said on Monday that Hungary would reject new military aid unless the OTP bank was removed from the list.
Budapest is specifically blocking an increase of the European Peace Facility (EPF), an intergovernmental fund that reimburses EU countries that supply military aid to the bloc's partners.
Ukraine's National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NACP) placed OTP on its list of war sponsors at the beginning of May, reasoning that the bank's presence in Russia, even after the Russian invasion, was clearly showing support for the war.
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell said he hoped "any obstacles to approving the sum will be overcome" in a press conference after the meeting.
"The overwhelming majority of member states" are in favour of increasing the fund with an additional €3.5 billion ($3.7 billion), Borrell said.
Borrell also welcomed the agreement to start F-16 fighter jet training for Ukrainian pilots however Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak had to contradict the EU foreign policy chief.
Błaszczak said Poland was only ready to start training pilots. Borrell had said however that instruction had already begun.
According to Pistorius, Germany is also examining whether Germany can assist with F-16 training. However the German defence minister emphasized that his country does not possess the aircraft.