Hungary open to Ukrainian grain transit; Zelensky and Magyar hold first formal meeting at EU summit
At the 16 October EU summit in Brussels, President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary to allow Ukrainian grain to transit their territories. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said he saw no obstacles as long as the cargo only passes through Hungary. The two leaders held their first official one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of the summit, with no aides present.
Key points
- Zelensky asked Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary to allow Ukrainian grain transit at the 16 October EU summit plenary in Brussels.
- Hungarian PM Péter Magyar said he sees no obstacles to transit through Hungary as long as the cargo only passes through the country.
- Zelensky and Magyar held their first official bilateral on 16 October on the summit sidelines, without aides or delegation members.
- During the meeting, Zelensky proposed transporting corn by rail under seal to Western Europe.
- Magyar said a well-functioning transit procedure existed 3–4 years ago but was later discontinued.
- Zelensky called the meeting "very good"; both sides agreed to continue ministerial-level consultations and identify joint projects, including in Transcarpathia.
- One outlet dates the first Zelensky–Magyar meeting to 16 September, while most other sources place it on 16 October.
Why it matters
Hungary's openness to grain transit stands in contrast to reported refusals from Poland and Romania, potentially offering a route for Ukrainian exports while Black Sea shipping remains disrupted by Russian attacks. The meeting is the first official bilateral between Zelensky and Magyar, with both leaders describing it positively and signalling a possible reset in relations. Magyar's caveat — accepting transit only as pure transit, not sale — sets a political condition that ties future cooperation to other bilateral questions, including the rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine.
What happened
At the plenary session of the 16 October EU summit in Brussels, President Volodymyr Zelensky asked Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary to permit the transit of Ukrainian grain through their territories. On the sidelines of the same summit, he held his first official bilateral meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar; the roughly 15-minute one-on-one took place without aides or delegation members. Zelensky proposed transporting Ukrainian corn by rail under seal to Western Europe, a model Magyar noted had worked 3–4 years earlier before being discontinued. Speaking to RTL on his way back from Brussels, Magyar said he saw no obstacles to Ukrainian grain transiting Hungary provided the cargo only passes through the country. Both leaders described the meeting as constructive — Zelensky called it "very good" — and agreed to continue consultations at ministerial level and to identify joint projects, including reconstruction of schools and hospitals and economic investment in Transcarpathia. Magyar suggested that, subject to progress on negotiations and implementation of agreements on the rights of the Hungarian minority, a further meeting could follow in a few months.
Where reporting differs
One outlet dates the first official Zelensky–Magyar meeting to 16 September, while most other sources — including the bulk of confirmed reporting — place it on 16 October on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels.
Background
Around 90% of Ukraine's wheat, corn and sunflower seed exports normally go through the Black Sea, where Russian attacks on ports and shipping have severely restricted shipments. In 2022, Ukraine and Russia reached Turkey-mediated agreements on safe Black Sea grain transit, but Russia has since intensified attacks on Ukrainian maritime logistics. Politico reported on 4 October that Poland and Romania had already refused to increase grain transit, citing the interests of their own farmers; Romania pointed to port overloading and low Danube water levels, while Poland's infrastructure ministry said no changes to increase transit were planned. The European Commission forecast the EU's 2025 corn harvest at 50.1 million tonnes — the lowest in nearly two decades — with farmers in France and Hungary hit particularly hard by heat and drought. Ukrainian farmers had sown 3,391.1 thousand hectares of winter crops, or 65.1% of the projected area, as of 14 October.