Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that the country will halt gas supplies to Ukraine until the “Druzhba” oil pipeline resumes operations. According to him, the decision is aimed at ensuring Hungary’s energy security.
Viktor Orbán announced this on March 25 on Facebook.
According to Orbán, “until Ukraine ensures oil supplies, it will not receive gas from Hungary.”
The prime minister added that gas supplies will be cut off gradually, and the freed-up volumes will be directed to domestic storage facilities.
As a reminder, after the start of the full-scale invasion, the EU banned the purchase of Russian oil, but made an exception for Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria due to their lack of access to the sea and their dependence on the Druzhba pipeline. Austria subsequently diversified its supplies.
In late January, the pipeline was damaged as a result of Russian shelling. At the same time, Hungarian and Slovak officials deny this, citing satellite data.