Budapest Demands Pipeline Repairs Before Approving Sanctions
Hungary has announced it will block the EU’s 20th sanctions package against Russia until Ukraine restores oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline, damaged in a Russian attack. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the Energy Security Council that EU war loans to Ukraine, including a previously approved €90 billion package, should not proceed while Hungary’s oil supply remains cut off.
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed the decision, stressing that the sanctions package will be blocked at a Monday meeting of EU foreign ministers until pipeline repairs are complete. He also warned that electricity supplies to Ukraine, of which almost half come from Hungary, must be managed carefully to avoid affecting local citizens and ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia.
Regional Power Tensions Over Energy
Slovakia has issued a similar warning. Prime Minister Robert Fico said that if oil deliveries to Slovakia do not resume by Monday, emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine could be stopped. Oil shipments to both Hungary and Slovakia were suspended at the end of January, a move Kyiv attributes to a Russian drone strike on the pipeline.
While most European nations have significantly cut or stopped Russian energy imports since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Hungary and Slovakia — both EU and NATO members — have continued or even increased imports under temporary EU exemptions.
Kyiv Condemns ‘Ultimatums’ as Winter Energy Crisis Worsens
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry strongly condemned Hungary and Slovakia for what it called “ultimatums and blackmail,” accusing both countries of aiding Russia by threatening energy supplies during one of the coldest winters in recent memory. “Such actions, in the context of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, are provocative, irresponsible, and threaten regional energy security,” the ministry said.
Orbán, often cited as the EU leader closest to the Kremlin, argues that Russian fossil fuels are essential to Hungary’s economy and that switching to alternative energy sources would trigger immediate economic problems — a claim disputed by some experts. The Hungarian prime minister has repeatedly threatened to block EU sanctions targeting Moscow and has vetoed financial and military support efforts for Ukraine.
