Budapest Links Sanctions to Pipeline Repairs
Hungary has announced it will block the EU’s 20th sanctions package against Russia until Ukraine restores oil deliveries to the country. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told the Energy Security Council that the bloc would not approve the €90 billion war loan for Ukraine while supplies remain cut. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó added that Hungary will continue to veto the sanctions until the Druzhba pipeline, damaged by a Russian attack, is repaired.
The council also discussed electricity supplies, which see nearly half of Ukraine’s imports coming from Hungary. Szijjártó stressed that halting deliveries could affect Hungarian citizens and ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia, urging caution in any decisions.
Slovakia Joins Hungary in Threatening Cuts
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico echoed similar warnings, stating that if oil deliveries do not resume by Monday, emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine could be halted. Deliveries to both Slovakia and Hungary were suspended at the end of January after a Russian drone strike on the Druzhba pipeline disrupted operations.
Despite widespread EU reductions in Russian energy imports since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Hungary and Slovakia have maintained or even increased their Russian oil and gas intake, receiving temporary exemptions from EU restrictions.
Ukraine Condemns Moves as “Provocative”
Ukraine has strongly condemned the actions as “ultimatums and blackmail” that play into Russian hands. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called the threats “provocative, irresponsible, and a risk to regional energy security,” particularly as Russian strikes have left millions of Ukrainians without power during one of the coldest winters in recent memory.
Orbán, who maintains a close relationship with Moscow, insists Russian fossil fuels are vital to Hungary’s economy and claims alternatives would cause economic collapse — a view disputed by some experts. He has repeatedly threatened to block EU sanctions on Russia, criticized efforts to cut Russian energy revenues, and vetoed EU proposals for military and financial support to Ukraine.
