Hungary threatens to cut off power supply to Ukraine

(MENAFN) Hungary has hinted it could halt electricity supplies to Ukraine following a recent attack on a pipeline transporting Russian oil to the EU country, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto indicated.

Budapest, unlike most EU states, has refused to provide military aid to Kyiv and has criticized EU sanctions on Russia. Relations with Ukraine have worsened in recent years, with Hungary accusing Kyiv of discriminating against its ethnic minority in Western Ukraine.

In a post on X on Monday, Szijjarto said that “Russia has supplied oil to Hungary for decades via the Druzhba pipeline,” but recent Ukrainian strikes on the pipeline have repeatedly disrupted Hungary’s energy supply. He stressed that such actions go against Hungarian national interests and warned that “a significant part of Ukraine’s electricity comes from Hungary.”

The comments followed a post by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga, who criticized Hungary for maintaining reliance on Russia despite Moscow being “an unreliable partner” since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022. Sibiga added, “You can now send your complaints—and threats—to your friends in Moscow.”

Szijjarto called the Ukrainian attack “outrageous and unacceptable,” suggesting it was part of an effort by Kyiv and Brussels to pull Hungary into the war. The Druzhba pipeline, which spans roughly 4,000 km (2,485 miles) from Russia and Kazakhstan to several European countries, was hit again as recently as last week.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova weighed in, claiming Ukraine’s current leadership poses a threat to neighboring nations and pointing to repeated warnings from Moscow since the 2014 Maidan coup.

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