Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Wednesday that Hungary faces increasing pressure from both Brussels and Kyiv, which are resorting to ‘crude and underhanded methods’. ‘Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by stopping oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline,’ he stressed in a video message uploaded to his social media, adding that this forced the government to ‘dip into our strategic reserves’.

According to Orbán, the aim of Kyiv’s blackmail is to ‘force Hungary into a coalition of pro-war European countries’. ‘There is enormous pressure to continue the war in Europe, and Ukraine specifically wants all of us, all European countries, including Hungary, to join the war,’ he declared while heading to the government meeting.

In a separate video uploaded to Orbán’s X account, the prime minister said that Hungary will not give in to the pressure and will ‘defend our position and continue supporting peace’.

Following Orbán’s statement, State Secretary Zoltán Kovács announced in a post on X that Hungary has halted its diesel exports to Ukraine until Kyiv restores oil transit to Hungary.

Hungary’s Energy Supply Remains Secure

Ukraine has halted transit through Druzhba since 27 January, a move the Hungarian government argues is politically motivated despite the technical feasibility of resuming deliveries. On Wednesday, Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó pointed out that although European Union sanctions generally prohibit Russian oil imports, exemptions were granted to landlocked countries for pipeline deliveries, primarily Hungary and Slovakia.

The two countries import a significant share of their oil needs from Russia through the pipeline due to geographical constraints. Since the outbreak of the war, Ukraine has repeatedly halted transit and attacked energy infrastructure, threatening the energy security of the two EU member states.

Because of the halted transit through Druzhba, Hungary and Slovakia formally notified Croatia of their intention to activate legal options allowing them to purchase Russian crude via maritime routes, as overland transit has become impossible. Szijjártó said on Wednesday that the Hungarian oil company MOL has already ordered 500,000 tonnes of Russian crude, expected to arrive at a Croatian port in early March before reaching refineries in Hungary and Slovakia within five to ten days.

If the shipment proceeds in line with EU regulations, Russian oil delivered by sea could become available from mid-March, the minister said, emphasizing that compliance by Croatia is ‘not a favour or humanitarian gesture, but an obligation under European rules’. He also rejected suggestions that such deliveries would violate US sanctions, stating that the restrictions in question do not apply to MOL.

The foreign minister also confirmed that Hungary’s oil supply remains secure, with strategic reserves sufficient for 96 days.

Finally, Szijjártó warned that Hungary and Slovakia play a crucial role in supplying Ukraine with electricity as well as natural gas and diesel, signalling potential broader consequences should energy disputes escalate further within the region.

Hungarian–Ukrainian Ties Reach Historic Low

The current oil dispute adds to already tense Hungarian–Ukrainian relations, which have deteriorated since the war broke out in 2022. Hungary is seen as one of the biggest obstacles to Ukraine’s EU membership, as Orbán has vowed to block every decision related to the issue, citing negative security and economic consequences. Hungary has advocated peace talks between Ukraine and Russia since the outset of the war, positioning itself as a lone European pro-peace voice. Over the weekend, Orbán declared that Ukraine is an ‘enemy’ of Hungary because of its push to ban Russian energy imports and that it should ‘never’ join the EU.

Ukraine has also become a central issue in Hungary’s campaign ahead of the April parliamentary election, with both Kyiv and Brussels supporting Orbán’s opposition, Péter Magyar and the Tisza party, who are expected to lift the veto on Ukraine’s accession.

‘Orbán declared that Ukraine is an “enemy” of Hungary’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has used recent speeches on international stages such as the World Economic Forum and the Munich Security Conference to deliver jabs and exert pressure on Orbán ahead of the election, prompting the prime minister to accuse Kyiv of openly interfering in Hungary’s democratic processes.

In a post earlier this week, Orbán highlighted that ‘political attacks from Ukraine’ have escalated over the past week. ‘President Zelenskyy has directly intervened in the Hungarian election campaign, opposing the Hungarian government,’ Orbán wrote, adding that by doing so Zelenskyy is ‘questioning the sovereign decision of the Hungarian people’. ‘As Prime Minister of Hungary, it is my duty to enforce the decision of the Hungarian people. And I will do so, again and again,’ Orbán concluded.

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