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.

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10 Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

    • @Larry One of the reasons why it is more expedient to continue importing Russian oil has to do with the composition of the oil!Russian oil contains more sulfur and is much heavier, and MOL’s refineries are geared towards this!By the way, Russian oil is called Ural and not Brennt! Ural oil is also offered on the market at a substantial discount! You can’t just change the process of refining oil! Also, don’t forget that there’s still a lot of demand for diesel in Hungary! Oil with a high sulfur content is ideal for this!As I wrote in an earlier comment, natural gas from Russia is still being imported into the Belgian ports of Antwerp and Zeebruges! In 2025, there was even a doubling of supply because the gas remains in the EU and is consumed there! The gas may no longer be supplied to non-EU countries! So accusing Hungary of continuing to support the war industry is nonsense! The deliveries of Russian gas are contractual deliveries that were concluded before the war broke out! Unilaterally breaking these contracts would lead to fines for the EU!

  3. 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 .

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