Hungary is threatening to block a proposed European Union loan of 90 billion euros to Ukraine – worth about $106 billion – unless oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline are restored.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on X on Friday that Hungary would oppose the EU financing package until oil transit via the Russia-linked Druzhba pipeline is resumed.
“Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by halting oil transit in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition, to cause supply disruptions in Hungary and push up fuel prices before the elections,” Szijjártó said.
He further claimed that blocking the transit of oil violates the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and breaches Kyiv’s obligations to the European Union.
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Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks during a session of the Russian Energy Week in Moscow, Russia, on October 15, 2025. (Ramil Sitdikov/Reuters)
The Druzhba pipeline has long been a key route for Russian oil supplies to parts of Central Europe, including Hungary, even as much of the EU has taken measures to curb dependence on Russian energy following Moscow’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The European Commission adopted a legislative package in January to implement a previously agreed EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027, aimed at supporting the country’s budgetary and military needs, according to a press release.
The financial commitment, known as the ‘Ukraine Support Loan’, would be structured as a limited recourse loan, allocating around €60 billion to military aid and €30 billion to general budget support.
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A general view of Hungarian oil company MOL’s Duna refinery near Szazhalombatta, about 30 kilometers south of Budapest, on May 5, 2022. (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images)
The Commission said the funding is intended to help Ukraine maintain essential state functions, strengthen its defense capabilities and strengthen resilience as the war with Russia continues.
The loan would be financed through common EU borrowing on the capital markets and guaranteed by the EU budget. The Commission also noted that the EU reserves the right to use immobilized Russian assets within the bloc, in accordance with EU and international law, to repay the loan.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday rejected what it called “ultimatums and blackmail” from the governments of Hungary and Slovakia over energy supplies, accusing both countries of taking actions that are “provocative, irresponsible and threaten the energy security of the entire region.”
The Druzhba oil pipeline between Hungary and Russia at the MOL Group’s Danube refinery in Szazhalombatta, Hungary, on May 18, 2022. (Bernadett Szabo/Reuters)
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“Ukraine is in constant contact with representatives of the European Commission about the damage to Ukrainian energy infrastructure caused by daily Russian attacks. We have also provided information on the consequences of these Russian attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure to the governments of Hungary and Slovakia,” the ministry said in a statement. “The security and stabilization repair work continues amid the daily threat of new missile attacks. Ukraine has also proposed alternative ways to solve the problem of supplying non-Russian oil to these countries.”
It added that Ukraine remains a “reliable energy partner” for the European Union and argued that “ultimatums should be sent to the Kremlin, and certainly not to Kiev.”
