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Ukraine's war effort and reconstruction are under severe strain as President Zelensky confronts a dual blockade: Hungary's Viktor Orban is obstructing a critical €90bn EU loan, while Russia escalates its aerial bombardment campaign. This pressure is fracturing international support and deepening domestic societal exhaustion.
March 2026
Week of Mar 30, compared to 12-week average
skeptical and delegitimizing
Ukraine's energy and financial lifelines are under direct threat. Hungary announced it will gradually stop sending gas to Ukraine, while Viktor Orban is blocking a €90bn EU loan over an oil dispute. The EU is seeking a breakthrough, with President von der Leyen stating it will find ways to get the loan to Ukraine.
President Zelensky is engaged in a high-stakes diplomatic confrontation over the terms of Western support. He exchanged sharp words with Donald Trump over Ukraine policy and accused the US of linking security guarantees to Ukraine leaving Donbas. Simultaneously, EU leaders failed to convince Hungary's Orban to unblock the Ukraine loan.
Russia has escalated its aerial war, launching one of its largest single-day drone attacks on Ukraine. The period was marked by massive, reciprocal drone attacks on capitals and critical infrastructure, including a strike on a Russian military factory in Bryansk. A tanker carrying Russian oil was also hit by a drone in the Black Sea.
Ukrainian society is grappling with the severe human cost and external propaganda assault of the prolonged war. The UN found Russia's deportations of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity, while a region like Zaporizhzhia faces a severe shortage of men. External figures like Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump amplify discrediting narratives against President Zelensky.
