Hungary was the European Union’s largest purchaser of Russian pipeline natural gas during the first five months of 2026, spending EUR 1.1 billion despite a year-on-year decline in imports.
According to Eurostat data analysed by the Russian state news agency TASS, Hungary accounted for nearly half of all EU spending on Russian pipeline gas between January and May. The figures show that the EU spent a total of EUR 2.4 billion on Russian pipeline gas during the period, down from EUR 2.8 billion a year earlier. Hungary alone was responsible for around 46% of that total.
Bulgaria and Greece followed Hungary
After Hungary, the largest importers of Russian pipeline gas were:
- Bulgaria: EUR 561 million
- Greece: EUR 472 million
Combined, Bulgaria and Greece spent roughly the same amount on Russian pipeline gas as Hungary alone. Imports continued in May, when Hungary purchased EUR 204 million worth of Russian pipeline gas. Greece imported EUR 129 million, Bulgaria EUR 122 million, and Slovakia EUR 121 million. Currently, all Russian pipeline gas reaching the European Union is transported through the TurkStream pipeline.
EU dependence continues to decline
Despite Hungary’s significant purchases, the role of Russian pipeline gas in the EU’s overall energy mix has fallen sharply since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Before the war, Russian pipeline gas accounted for around 40% of Europe’s energy mix. That figure has now dropped to approximately 6%. The European Council has agreed that EU member states must phase out imports of all Russian fossil fuels, including natural gas, by the end of 2027.
Western Europe bought more Russian LNG
While Hungary topped the ranking for pipeline gas, the picture changes when liquefied natural gas (LNG) is included. According to TASS calculations based on Eurostat data, EU countries spent EUR 3.7 billion on Russian LNG during the first five months of 2026, down by nearly 10% from around EUR 4 billion during the same period last year.
In May alone, the EU imported EUR 925 million worth of Russian LNG. The largest buyers of Russian LNG that month were:
- France: EUR 369 million
- Spain: EUR 305 million
- Belgium: EUR 211 million
Including both pipeline gas and LNG, these three Western European countries spent more on Russian gas than Hungary in May.
Highest monthly spending in nearly 18 months
Overall, the European Union imported EUR 1.5 billion worth of Russian gas (both pipeline gas and LNG) in May 2026, the highest monthly total since January 2025, according to TASS’s analysis of Eurostat figures.
Although the bloc’s reliance on Russian energy continues to decline overall, the latest figures show that Russian gas remains an important part of Europe’s energy supply, particularly for several Central and Southern European countries that continue to receive pipeline deliveries via TurkStream.
What’s next? US could hit Hungary with up to 100% tariffs over Russian oil and gas imports
The picture of traitor Orban with his Russian master says it all.
So what?
The problem is not buying RUSSIA gas. The problem is BUYING gas.
If the E.U. didn’t have its head stuck so far up its a.. that it’s a donut, European countries would be fracking, drilling, extracting shale gas, etc. by the billions of tons. But because they are so slavishly beholden to the Net Zero garbage, they are determined to toss us back into the 15th century–or, indeed, much earlier, because we’re not allowed even wood-burning stoves anymore–so we’re paying a premium to others to do what we should be doing ourselves.
All the mothers who made such decisions should be swinging from lampposts, the filthy traitors.