Hungary Claims Ukraine's Ban on Russian Oil Transit Is Blackmail

The Hungarian government claims that by halting the transit of oil from the Russian company Lukoil, Ukraine is putting Hungary in a "hopeless situation."

This was stated by Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's office, as reported by Hungarian media Telex.

He asserts that Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary and Slovakia by blocking oil supplies.

According to Orbán’s office representative, if the situation does not change, Hungary may face a fuel shortage. He mentioned that there are still reserves, but a solution must be found by September.

"If the situation is not resolved, there could be a fuel shortage. However, there is no need to panic; reserves are available and can be confidently guaranteed until September. A solution needs to be found by then," Gulyás noted.

He added that Ukraine is placing Hungary in a "hopeless situation" and reminded that Budapest is assisting Kyiv with electricity supplies and providing shelter to Ukrainian refugees.

However, the Hungarian government representative stated that Hungary will not use this situation to blackmail Ukraine.

Hungary and Slovakia were granted exemptions from the Europe-wide ban on Russian oil imports following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, Kyiv recently ordered the suspension of the transit of Lukoil’s oil products via the Druzhba pipeline.

Ukraine insists that the pipeline continues to transport the same amount of oil as before, thanks to other Russian companies. Hungary and Slovakia, on the other hand, argue that Kyiv’s decision threatens their energy security.

The European Commission stalled Hungary and Slovakia’s request to press Kyiv to revoke recent sanctions against the Russian oil company Lukoil.