Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has labeled Ukraine’s decision to block Russian oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline as “blatant political blackmail.”
The pipeline transit has remained suspended since late January, with Kiev attributing the halt to Russia and accusing it of damaging infrastructure. Moscow has denied these allegations.
In a post on X Wednesday, Orban stated that Ukraine is capable of resuming deliveries but is deliberately withholding them “to pressure us to support their EU membership and hand over funds belonging to Hungarian families.”
Budapest has consistently opposed Ukraine’s bid for EU accession, arguing it would draw the bloc into the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“Thankfully, Hungary has a government that doesn’t bow to blackmail,” Orban said, announcing that Budapest “has decided to stop diesel fuel deliveries to Ukraine” in response to Kiev’s actions.
Slovakia, another EU member state relying on Russian oil from the Druzhba pipeline, also made a similar move by signaling it would cut electricity supplies to Ukraine if oil flows do not resume.
Both Hungary and Slovakia maintain that, as landlocked nations, they cannot fully meet their energy needs without Russian deliveries.
“We have taken all necessary steps to secure our supply and we will not give in,” Orban insisted.
On Wednesday, Budapest announced that Hungarian energy company MOL has signed contracts for Russian oil shipments through Croatia, bypassing Ukrainian territory. The shipments are expected to arrive at a Croatian port in early March and be transported to refineries in Hungary and Slovakia within five to ten days.
When pressed by journalists on Monday about the suspension of Druzhba pipeline deliveries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Pekov described Ukraine’s actions as “a sort of energy blackmail by Ukraine against an EU member state, Hungary” and noted that Russian oil companies are exploring options to increase supplies to Hungary via Croatia.
