Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has ordered reinforced protection of critical energy infrastructure, including increased police presence and troop deployment due to possible Ukrainian actions to disrupt the Hungarian energy system.
Orbán announced the decision on Wednesday, referring to reports from the national security services. ‘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 stressed. ‘Hungary cannot be blackmailed,’ Orbán declared.
In a post on X, political director of the Hungarian prime minister Balázs Orbán said that, according to available information, ‘Ukraine is preparing further actions aimed at disrupting the operation of Hungary’s energy system.’ Orbán alleged that ‘pro-war leaders led by Ursula von der Leyen’ agreed yesterday in Kyiv on ‘continuing the war and on maintaining pressure on Hungary.’
‘Hungary will not be intimidated, we will not allow ourselves to be dragged into the war, and we will firmly defend Hungarian national interests,’ he concluded.
Hungarian government officials have accused Ukraine of deliberately blocking transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which has been halted since 27 January. Hungary and Slovakia import a significant share of their energy supplies through the pipeline, making the move a threat to the countries’ energy security.
In response to what Budapest describes as Kyiv’s blackmail, 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.
Orbán accused Kyiv and Brussels of openly interfering in the upcoming parliamentary elections by blocking oil transit and artificially increasing energy prices in Hungary.
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