"Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban criticised the European Union's €90 billion loan plan for Ukraine on Monday, arguing the money would be better spent on domestic infrastructure instead of "disappearing into the pockets of Ukrainian oligarchs." Speaking at the opening of a new highway on Hungary’s Great Plain, Orban said his government had resisted what he described as a risky 'Brussels-backed' financing scheme. “And in Brussels, some so-called wise gentlemen have decided to grant Ukraine a €90 billion loan, apparently hoping it will be repaid one day, with interest,” he said. Orban warned that Hungary’s contribution would have amounted to around 400 billion forints, insisting the funds could be put to more practical use at home and not 'wasted on ruins'. “The section of road we are opening today costs 170 billion forints. […] In other words, we would have had to hand over to Brussels an amount equivalent to the entire construction cost of this highway,” he added. The comments come after crunch talks between European leaders in Brussels saw them fail to agree on the flagship plan pushed by the European Commission to use frozen Russian assets for a €210 billion 'reparations loan' for Ukraine. The alternative - a smaller €90bn loan over two years backed by the EU budget - needed a unanimous decision, with Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic only agreeing to approve it on the proviso that they did not have to contribute. On the failed Russian frozen assets proposal, Belgium’s PM Bart De Wever said: "When we explained the text again, there were so many questions that I said, 'I told you so, I told you so'. There are a lot of loose ends. And if you start pulling at the loose ends in the strings, the thing collapses." Belgium - where the assets are held - and others warned of the impact on investor confidence, the need for 'risk-sharing' if Russia won a subsequent lawsuit, and questioned the legality."