Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on his Twitter (X) account that Hungary is suspending diesel fuel supplies to Ukraine. He said deliveries will not resume until Kyiv restores oil transit through the “Druzhba” pipeline.
Szijjarto accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of refusing to restart the transit for political reasons, deliberately putting Hungary’s energy supply at risk. He also stressed that Budapest plays a key role in supporting Ukraine’s energy needs, noting that a significant share of Ukraine’s imports of gas, electricity and diesel flows through or from Hungary: “We cannot ensure another country’s energy security while our own supplies are under threat. Energy cooperation must be mutual and based on respect, not on pressure.”
On January 27, Russia attacked the pipeline, halting the transit of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. Although technical work on the Ukrainian side was completed on February 6, Ukrtransnafta has not decided to resume pumping. The Hungarian side called this political sabotage and, in mid-February, asked Croatia to allow the transit of Russian oil via the Adria pipeline as an alternative route. (https://theins.ru/news/289416)
Kyiv rejected accusations of deliberately blocking the transit. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry pointed out that it was Russia that attacked the Druzhba pipeline and advised Hungary to turn to Moscow about restoring supplies. Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha criticized Hungary for remaining silent after the Russian strike on the pipeline.
Hungary won an exemption from the European oil embargo on Russia in 2022, preserving its right to import Russian oil by pipeline, and has since increased Russian crude to roughly 90% of its imports. Slovakia, which has taken a similar stance, also depends on the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico backed Hungary, saying oil has become a tool of “political blackmail.”
