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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened on Friday to block the European Union's $106-billion loan to Ukraine, escalating a dispute over Russian oil deliveries that has deepened divisions within the bloc over energy and wartime solidarity.
Orban said Hungary would use its veto power unless Kyiv restored the flow of Russian crude through the Druzhba pipeline, which runs from Russia across Ukrainian territory to Hungary and Slovakia. "As long as Ukraine blocks the Druzhba pipeline, Hungary will block the 90-billion-euro Ukrainian war loan. We will not be pushed around!" the Hungarian leader wrote on Facebook.
Ukrainian authorities say the Druzhba pipeline was shut down after sustaining damage during a Russian attack in January. The disruption has become a flashpoint between Kyiv and two of Moscow's closest allies in Europe, with both Hungary and Slovakia demanding the pipeline's immediate reopening.
Slovakia's Economy Minister Denisa Sakova said on Friday that Ukraine had postponed the resumption of oil deliveries until February 24, offering no immediate relief to the two landlocked nations that remain dependent on Russian crude transiting through Ukraine.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who along with Orban has maintained closer ties with Moscow than most European leaders, declared a state of emergency over energy supplies on Wednesday and threatened retaliatory measures against Ukraine if the pipeline was not brought back online.
Both Fico and Orban have accused the Ukrainian government of political "blackmail" against Hungary, which opposes Ukraine's accession to the EU. The accusation frames the pipeline shutdown not as a consequence of wartime damage but as a deliberate pressure tactic by Kyiv.
The European Parliament approved the loan on February 11 to support Ukraine in its fight against Russia's ongoing invasion. The financial package, worth approximately 90 billion euros, represents one of the EU's largest commitments to Kyiv since the war began.
Orban's veto threat now places the loan's fate in jeopardy, setting up a confrontation between Hungary's energy demands and the broader European effort to sustain Ukraine's defense. EU decisions on foreign policy and major financial commitments typically require unanimous agreement among member states, giving any single government significant leverage.
The Druzhba pipeline, built during the Soviet era, is one of the longest oil pipeline networks in the world and has historically been a major conduit for Russian crude reaching Central and Western Europe. Hungary and Slovakia secured exemptions from EU sanctions on Russian oil imports in 2022, in part because of their heavy reliance on pipeline deliveries.
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