Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that the Ukrainian government would not succeed in crippling Hungary’s economy through what he described as an oil blockade.
Speaking to the Patriota channel on YouTube, Orban stated that the Kyiv government would not be able to force Budapest into submission by shutting down the Druzhba oil pipeline.
“We have accumulated such significant reserves that the Ukrainian government will not be able to create chaos before the elections, nor will they be able to bring the Hungarian economy to its knees by imposing an oil blockade ahead of the vote,” Orban said.
Last Sunday, Budapest decided to begin purchasing oil from its emergency reserves and to buy fuel via maritime routes.
Ukraine had suspended oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline, citing ongoing attacks by the Russian army as the reason.
In response, Hungary blocked the European Union’s 20th sanctions package against Russia as well as a new €90 billion loan package for Ukraine. Slovakia also announced that it had halted electricity supplies to Ukraine.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that Kyiv had blocked the oil transit entirely for political reasons, arguing that there was no technical justification for the move.