IT’S important that we ensure that “Ukraine fatigue” does not set in – yes, there is a complex messy world out there but now is the time to maintain, even enhance, our support for the Ukrainians, or risk facing worse consequences down the line.

Next month marks two years since Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine as it sought to decapitate its leadership and extinguish the state. Not only have the Ukrainians valiantly fought off the initial attacks but they have also taken significant strides towards recapturing huge swathes of territory, inflicting heavy losses on one of the world’s most powerful armed forces.

International support for Ukraine has, by and large, exceeded expectations. The European Union has provided more than €40 billion (about £34bn) to support Ukraine’s budget, plus €27bn (£23bn) in military aid since the invasion in February 2022, and €17bn (£14.5bn) to support Ukrainian refugees in Europe. It has evolved its foreign and security policies at a rapid pace to co-ordinate the individual member states into a heavyweight response.

The US has also provided significant support, with $42.2bn (about £33.1bn) in security assistance. The UK, with SNP support in Scotland, has also provided significant funding in its own right, with £12bn of military and non-military assistance.

READ MORE: Keir Starmer denies he's taking UK to 'Thatcherite future'

However, there are those who are increasingly questioning the delivery of assistance for Ukraine, especially in an increasingly inward-looking US. Republicans in Congress are holding out against agreeing a new aid package of $60bn (£47bn).

And in the EU, Hungary’s Viktor Orban is leading the charge against further EU assistance, which is now resulting inhas led to a special European Council summit tomorrow to find a solution to unlock €50bn (£47.8bn) in fresh financial aid.

Yesterday I highlighted in the House of Commons that Ukraine is far from out of the woods – the International Monetary Fund estimates that this year Ukraine will need roughly $37.1bn (£29.3bn) in funding just to balance the books.

Half of its budget, unsurprisingly, is being spent on defence, which has consequences for other vital public services. I reiterated my call for seized Russian assets to be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine – but that also is why the European Council meeting has huge implications not only for Ukraine’s security but also for our own.

With the US Congress in gridlock and a real potential second Trump presidency, it is vital that Europeans come together to help one another in this time of crisis. Given the immediate need for funds, almost all EU countries are in agreement to create a dedicated Ukraine Facility to provide the country with long-term stability. The UK should find a way to be as close to this as possible.

READ MORE: What is voter ID and how will it affect Scotland?

That’s almost all EU countries save Hungary. Those who have been following European politics will be aware of his likely reasons for potentially vetoing the package.

From undermining civic institutions such as the judiciary, gerrymandering the parliament and increasing restrictions on minorities, much of the work Orban has done goes against many of the core values of the EU. That, and the positive overtures he has made to Putin’s Russia even before the renewed invasion, has meant that when decisions in the EU require unanimity, they have often been thwarted or delayed significantly.

Evidently, many European leaders are feeling frustrated by this. Given the importance of getting financial aid to Ukraine as quickly as possible, the EU appears to have reached the end of its patience with Orban’s behaviour and has drawn up a strategy of threatening to withdraw all EU funding to Budapest if the Ukrainian Facility is not passed.

In the words of Mujtaba Rahman, Europe director at consultancy Eurasia Group, quoted in the Financial Times: “This is Europe telling Viktor Orban, ‘Enough is enough; it’s time to get in line. You may have a pistol, but we have the bazooka’.” Meanwhile, Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union offers an alternative method: stripping Budapest of its voting rights given its continued infringements on EU values. The EU is not messing around.

At the time of writing, it remained unclear whether Hungary will use its veto or not, and if they do what effect it will have, given there are other ways of getting the decision through (as the EU had to do when the UK vetoed action in the wake of the financial crisis).

What is clear though is that we all, collectively, remain resolute in our support of Ukraine. This is a war the Ukrainians have been fighting for more than a decade and has helped ensure the rest of us live in relative security. If Ukraine falls or is forced to capitulate to Putin’s Russia, then the rest of Europe will be the next object of his attentions, as many of our Scandinavian and Baltic friends have been warning.

To prevent an even worse outcome, we must do what we can to support Ukraine and this week’s summit in Brussels will have longer-term implications than most, for all of us.