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Hungary seeks Croatia’s help to secure Russian oil supplies while putting the blame on Ukraine
Hungary and Slovakia have turned to Croatia for help in securing oil supplies after the Druzhba pipeline has remained out of operation for weeks, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Sunday.
According to the minister, transit through the Druzhba oil pipeline has still not resumed via Ukraine, prompting Budapest and Bratislava to request that crude deliveries be allowed through the Adria oil pipeline instead.
Appeal to Croatia
Szijjártó announced in a Facebook post that he and Slovakia’s economy minister Denisa Saková had jointly written to Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar, urging Croatia to enable Russian oil shipments towards Hungary and Slovakia “without delay” and in line with EU regulations, Index reports.
He emphasised that both countries had previously secured a sanctions exemption allowing them to continue purchasing Russian crude via pipeline. That exemption also permits maritime imports if pipeline transit becomes impossible. “No country’s energy security should be an ideological issue,” Szijjártó said, adding that Hungary expects Croatia not to endanger supply stability for political reasons.
Szijjártó does not believe Ukrainians regarding disruptions
The Druzhba pipeline was reportedly hit near the end of January in fighting close to the Ukrainian town of Brody. Ukrainian authorities say the disruption stems from Russian attacks, while the Hungarian government has argued that transit could technically resume but is being blocked for political reasons by Ukrainian leadership, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The prolonged shutdown has intensified concerns about supply routes in Central Europe, where Hungary and Slovakia remain among the most dependent on Russian crude.
Limits of the Adria route
Hungarian oil company MOL Group has previously cautioned that the Adria pipeline cannot fully replace Druzhba. Last year, the firm said increasing utilisation of the Croatian route could cover roughly 80% of the needs of its landlocked refineries if Russian pipeline deliveries fell sharply.
However, MOL stressed that the Adria line currently plays only a supplementary role. The company argued that the region requires at least two reliable, full-capacity pipelines to guarantee secure supply. It also noted uncertainties over the Croatian section’s actual transport capability and cited delays in previous deliveries.
Broader energy implications
The current situation may effectively test whether Hungary can maintain crude imports without the Druzhba pipeline, an issue that has been central to Budapest’s long-standing push for exemptions from EU sanctions on Russian energy. For now, Hungary and Slovakia are pressing Croatia to ensure the Adria pipeline can serve as an alternative route while the disruption in Ukraine continues.
Featured image: Szijjártó Péter/Facebook
So, tell me already:
Why is Hungary supplying Ukraine, a nation that actively sabotages Hugnary’s critical infrastructure?
Ukraine’s actions are an act of war. But fine, Ukraine is stronger at the moment, so let’s not declare war.
Still, cutting energy, aid, and anything being transferred to Ukraine is the most minimal act, that can be expected.
We should have the Hungarian army at the Ukrainian border, expelled the Ukrainian ambassador, forbid transferring anything towards Ukraine, and arrest EVERY politically liked Ukrainian inside Hungary.
If they want to fuck around, and destroy our nation by targeting critical infrastructure, there is literally no room for kid gloves. It is an existential threat, and must be responded to in kind.
Considering the fact that over recent weeks Ukraine has been on the receiving end of a daily barrage of Russian missles attacking its energy infrastructure, do you not consider it possible that this Russian blunderbuss approach has now damaged the oil pipeline? I was warning of precisely this risk years ago, namely, that relying on a pipeline that transits a war zone strikes any reasonable bystander as unwise. Ukraine’s current priority is to restore electricity and heating to its own population and its engineers will be working 16 hours a day doing exactly that, repairing an oil pipeline that serves Hungary and Slovakia will be low down its list of priorities and that’s before considering any of the politics involved. After 4 years of brutal fighting it was virtually inevitable that the Friendship pipeline would eventually go offline.
There is no reason why Hungary cannot import non-Russian oil through the Adria pipeline. Buying Russian oil funds Russia’s military campaign against Ukraine which is a completely hostile act. Hungary has the alternative of buying non-Russian oil. Whatever discount Hungary gets on Russian oil remains within MOL and then gets distributed into the pockets of the Fidesz elite and the political agencies of Fidesz. Russian energy funds a massive corrupt kickback scheme. Nothing gets passed onto the consumer .