Hungary's prime minister on Friday rejected an emotional appeal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to supply Ukraine with weapons and support sanctions on Russia's energy sector.
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Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a video posted to social media that Zelenskyy's requests were "against Hungary's interests," and that sanctions on Russian energy "would mean that the Hungarian economy would slow down and then stop within moments."
The rejection came after Zelenskyy on Thursday addressed a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels where he specifically addressed Orban, who is widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in the EU.
"Listen, Viktor, do you know what is happening in Mariupol?" Zelenskyy said. "I want to be open once and for all – you should decide for yourself, who you are for."
Hungary, alone among EU countries bordering Ukraine, has declined to supply its neighbor with weapons and refused to allow weapons shipments to cross its border into Ukraine.
On Friday, Orban said that 85% of Hungary's gas and more than 60% of its oil comes from Russia, and that blocking Russian energy exports would force Hungarians to "pay the price of the war."
Also on Friday, Russian shelling hit a clinic that was acting as a center for humanitarian aid in the eastern city of Kharkiv, killing four people, according to a statement from the regional police.
"As a result of the morning shelling of civilian infrastructure from multiple rocket launchers, 7 civilians were injured, 4 of whom died," said a statement on social media. "There is no military facility nearby."
Reuters could not independently verify the report.
Thus far, about half the population of the eastern city of Kharkiv has left, and food and other essentials are dwindling for those who stay behind. A line formed Thursday at an apartment block as neighbors waited for aid from the Red Cross.
"Among those who stayed, there are people who can walk on their own, but many who cannot walk, the elderly," said Hanna Spitsyna, who distributed the food to the sound of explosions behind her.
Kharkiv has been under siege by Russian forces since the start of the invasion, with relentless shelling that has forced people to sleep in metro stations and in basements.
Ukraine's government said shelling on a group of people awaiting aid elsewhere in the city killed six people on Thursday. It was not immediately possible to verify the allegation.
On Friday, Finland's national railway operator announced it would suspend services between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg in Russia starting Monday, March 28, closing one of the last public transport routes to the European Union for Russians.
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Given sanctions on Russia, the operator VR had been directed by the state that it was no longer appropriate to run the service to Saint Petersburg, known as the Allegro, its head of passenger traffic Topi Simola said Friday.
Trains from Russia to Finland's capital Helsinki have been full of Russians since the invasion of Ukraine began and mutual airspace closures cut off flight connections between Russia and the European Union.
The border between Finland and Russia remains open for crossings by private car.
Finland's minister in charge of state holdings Tytti Tuppurainen told the country's largest daily Helsingin Sanomat that one of the reasons for maintaining the train services until now was to allow Finns living in Russia to return to Finland.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his Ukrainian counterpart comments on the need for a referendum for compromises with Russia was "smart leadership," broadcaster NTV and others cited him as saying on Friday.
Speaking to reporters on a return flight from a NATO summit in Brussels, Erdogan also said Turkey could not impose sanctions on Russia due to its energy needs and cooperation.
Zelenskyy said on Monday any compromises agreed with Russia to end the war would need to be voted upon in a referendum.
