Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced on Friday that Hungary and Slovakia will set up an investigative committee ‘to clarify the condition’ of the Druzhba pipeline. ‘I call on @ZelenskyyUa to allow Hungarian and Slovak inspectors access and to restart the Friendship oil pipeline immediately,’ Orbán wrote in a post on X.
Oil transit through the key pipeline has been halted since 27 January, despite Hungarian and Slovak claims that the route is technically operational. In response, Orbán announced last Friday that Hungary will block the €90 billion loan—agreed by EU leaders in December 2025, with Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary opting out—until Ukraine resumes transit on Druzhba.
The move follows coordinated steps by Budapest and Bratislava, including halting diesel exports to Kyiv. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico also warned that Slovakia would cut electricity exports to Ukraine if transit is not restored, while Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó blocked the 20th sanctions package at Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council.
Citing intelligence reports, Orbán also ordered reinforced protection of critical energy infrastructure, including troop deployments and a drone ban in the border region of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county over the risk of potential sabotage. ‘I have ordered reinforced protection of critical infrastructure, troop deployment where necessary, increased police presence, and a drone ban in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county,’ he said, stressing that ‘Hungary cannot be blackmailed’.
On Thursday, 26 February, Hungary’s chargé d’affaires in Kyiv was summoned twice to the Ukrainian foreign ministry in connection with the transit dispute, according to Szijjártó, who said it became clear that ‘oil deliveries are not being restarted exclusively for political reasons’. He added that Ukrainian officials were outraged that Hungary made public the outcome of the first meeting, where they admitted that the resumption of transit depends on Hungary sending money and weapons to Ukraine. ‘We send neither money nor weapons, because we do not want Hungary to be dragged into the war,’ he said, stressing that Hungary will preserve the peace and security of its people at all costs.
He added that Kyiv is attempting to create an oil supply emergency in Hungary ahead of the upcoming election in April. ‘We will not allow them to blackmail us,’ he underlined, reiterating that until oil deliveries resume, Hungary will block decisions in Brussels that are important to Ukraine.
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