3 months ago
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Hungary volition artifact a planned 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) European Union indebtedness to Ukraine until the travel of Russian lipid done the Druzhba pipeline resumes, Hungary's Foreign Minister said.
Russian lipid shipments to Hungary and Slovakia person been interrupted since January 27, aft Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone onslaught damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude crossed Ukrainian territory and into Central Europe.
Hungary and Slovakia, which person some received a impermanent exemption from an E.U. argumentation prohibiting imports of Russian oil, person accused Ukraine — without providing grounds — of deliberately holding up supplies.
In a video posted connected societal media Friday (February 20, 2026) evening, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Ukraine of “blackmailing” Hungary by failing to restart lipid shipments.
He said his authorities would artifact a monolithic interest-free indebtedness the E.U. approved successful December to assistance Kyiv to conscionable its subject and economical needs for the adjacent 2 years.
“We volition not springiness successful to this blackmail. We bash not enactment Ukraine's war, we volition not wage for it,” Mr. Szijjártó said. “As agelong arsenic Ukraine blocks the resumption of lipid supplies to Hungary, Hungary volition artifact European Union decisions that are important and favourable for Ukraine.” Hungary's determination to artifact the cardinal backing for Ukraine came 2 days aft it suspended shipments of diesel to its embattled neighbour until lipid flows done the Druzhba were resumed, and lone days earlier the 4th day of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Nearly each state successful Europe has importantly reduced oregon wholly ceased Russian vigor imports since Moscow launched its warfare successful Ukraine connected February 24, 2022. Yet Hungary — an E.U. and NATO subordinate — has maintained and adjacent accrued its proviso of Russian lipid and gas.
Hungary's nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has agelong argued that Russian fossil fuels are indispensable for its system and that switching to vigor sourced from elsewhere would origin an contiguous economical illness — an statement immoderate experts dispute.
Widely seen arsenic the Kremlin's biggest advocator successful the E.U., Orbán has vigorously opposed the bloc's efforts to authorisation Moscow implicit its penetration and blasted attempts to deed Russia's vigor revenues that assistance concern the war. His authorities has often threatened to veto E.U. efforts to assistance Ukraine.
Not each of the E.U.'s 27 countries agreed to instrumentality portion successful the 90-billion-euro indebtedness bundle for Ukraine. Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic opposed the plan, but a woody was reached successful which they did not artifact the indebtedness and were promised extortion from immoderate fiscal fallout.
