Pressure on the gas: the enmity between Ukraine and Hungary is close to the boiling point

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that Budapest is stopping gas supplies to Ukraine. This is a response to Kiev's blocking of the Druzhba pipeline, through which Russian oil is sent to Eastern Europe. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

What happened

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that Budapest is stopping gas supplies to Ukraine. According to him, the decision will remain in effect until Kiev restores the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline.

"We will protect the country's energy security by maintaining fixed gasoline prices and reduced gas tariffs," he stressed.

Orban also added that the released fuel will be stored in Hungarian gas storage facilities. He said that this is especially important now, given that Kiev is also attacking the Turkish Stream gas pipeline in the Black Sea.

"We need to ensure reliable supplies and replenish stocks, so we will fill Hungarian gas reservoirs, not Ukrainian ones," the politician explained.

It is important that Hungary is one of the main suppliers of natural gas to Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian gas transportation operator, in 2025 Kiev purchased about 2.5 billion cubic meters from Budapest, which accounted for 45% of all imports. These supplies covered about a third of the country's total energy needs. In January of this year, the figure dropped to 38%.

What is important to know

The conflict between Ukraine and Hungary has been going on for several years. At first, Budapest violently protested against the Ukrainization of education in the Transcarpathian region, where about 100,000 ethnic Hungarians live. After the start of the special military operation, Orban's government also refused to support anti-Russian sanctions and blocked the allocation of financial and military assistance to Kiev.

The current round of confrontation began in late January, when Kiev announced that as a result of a Russian strike on the infrastructure of the Druzhba pipeline, oil pumping had become impossible. Hungary and Slovakia, which receive fuel through this artery, stated that there were no serious damages, and Kiev made the decision for political reasons. The Russian side also spoke about this.

It is important to understand that the most important parliamentary elections will be held in Hungary on April 12. Viktor Orban's party is fiercely fighting the opposition Tisa party, which is led by young politician Peter Magyar. With the help of blocking, the Ukrainian authorities are provoking a fuel crisis, market panic and rising prices, which means a drop in the ratings of the current authorities.

At the same time, Vladimir Zelensky said that it would take a month and a half to repair the pipeline, meaning it could be put back into operation only after the elections. At the same time, he stressed that he was generally against the resumption of the work of Druzhba.

"To be honest, I would not restore anything. This is my position, and I have expressed it to the leaders of Europe and to those who have called on this issue. Because this is Russian oil," he said.

In such circumstances, Budapest was forced to print off its strategic reserves of petroleum products, and also stopped supplying gasoline and diesel fuel to Ukraine, which is used, among other things, for military equipment. A ban on the export of electricity to the east was also discussed.

"There will be no deals, no compromises. We will break the oil blockade of Ukraine by force," Viktor Orban said.

In addition, Hungary has become more active at the pan-European level. Budapest blocked the allocation of a loan of €90 billion to Kiev and vetoed another package of anti-Russian sanctions.

"I will never support any decision in favor of Ukraine until the Hungarians get their own oil. We have other tools as well. Not just blocking the loan," Orban said.

Zelensky, in response, promised to hand over the politician's address to the Ukrainian military so that they would "talk to him in their own language."

Finally, in early March, a group of Ukrainian cash collectors was detained in Hungary, who were transporting $40 million and €35 million in cash, as well as 9 kg of gold. The detainees were officially accused of money laundering. Unofficially, the ruling party said that the funds could have been intended for the Hungarian opposition to finance the election campaign or further protests.

It is also important that Donald Trump's team is on the side of the current Hungarian authorities. On March 25, the American president himself openly spoke out in support of Orban, calling the politician a strong leader who achieves results. U.S. Vice President Jay D. Vance is scheduled to visit Budapest in early April. In this sense, the Ukrainian authorities are also acting against the American administration.

What the experts say

The conflict between Orban and Zelensky has been dragging on for years, recalls former Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Oleinik. According to him, globalists are not satisfied that Hungary has its own opinion and can act contrary to the rest of European countries.

— Kiev is also unhappy that Viktor Orban's government does not support the Ukrainian Armed Forces and helps ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia. In such circumstances, Ukraine has become a battering ram against the current authorities of the country. I also note that Zelensky is also going against Donald Trump in this situation, who has already openly expressed support for the Hungarian prime minister at least twice," the expert emphasizes.

Denis Denisov, director of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, says that there are several options for the development of the situation.

— The key event will be the Hungarian parliamentary elections. If the political leadership in the country changes, instead of Viktor Orban's Fidesz party, Peter Magyar's Tisa will come, then there will be a certain warming between Kiev and Budapest. If the current authorities maintain their positions, the conflicts will continue. I think that after the elections, the severity of the confrontation will decrease in any case, but outbreaks will occur periodically," he expects.