Hungary has threatened to veto all European Union decisions supporting Ukraine in response to Kyiv’s alleged obstruction of Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, escalating a bilateral dispute with significant implications for EU unity.
The conflict centres on the Druzhba pipeline, a major Russian export route that traverses Ukraine. Supplies through the pipeline were suspended in January after Ukraine claimed Russian strikes caused damage—an assertion Moscow denies. Hungary and Slovakia, both dependent on Russian crude, allege Ukraine is deliberately preventing the resumption of flows for political reasons.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban stated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly aimed to stop Russian energy from reaching the EU. He suggested Ukrainian “sabotage actions” could now target any facility using Russian supplies, citing the 2022 explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline as a precedent. Orban announced that Hungarian armed forces had been deployed to guard 75 critical energy sites nationwide.
He demanded that Ukraine permit international inspectors, including Hungarian representatives, to examine the pipeline, citing what he described as new satellite evidence showing it remains fully operational. Ukraine has reportedly declined a proposed EU inspection mission. Orban declared Hungary would not accept “Ukrainian blackmail” and would use its EU veto power “for as long as necessary” to force the restoration of oil flows.
This follows Hungary’s recent double veto blocking a €90 billion EU emergency loan for Ukraine and the bloc’s 20th sanctions package on Russia. The EU has committed to ending Russian energy imports by 2027, though several members, including Hungary and Slovakia, remain heavily reliant on such supplies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, hosting Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Moscow, reiterated Russia’s status as a “reliable supplier,” stating Moscow had always fulfilled its obligations and remained ready to do so.
The standoff highlights the fragility of EU solidarity regarding Ukraine support, particularly where member state energy security intersects with broader sanctions policy. Hungary’s military posture and veto threat raise the stakes for upcoming EU negotiations, potentially hindering further financial and political aid for Kyiv and complicating the bloc’s unified sanctions strategy against Moscow.
