Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced the date on which he will stop gas supplies to Ukraine
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has ordered the cessation of natural gas transit to Ukraine starting from July 2026, according to a decree published on the night of Wednesday to Thursday and cited by the DPA agency, taken over by RBC Ukraine.
Viktor Orbana announced the date on which he will stop gas supplies to Ukraine. PHOTO: Facebook
The normative act prohibits the Hungarian gas transport operator FGSZ from offering transit capacities to Ukraine after this date. However, the company has already allocated capacity for the second quarter until the end of June, and a possible breach of existing contracts would have exposed the Budapest government to significant damages.
In this context, the measure will enter into force after the elections in Hungary, scheduled for April 12.
The decision comes shortly after Viktor Orban announced, in a video message published on Facebook, that Hungary will gradually reduce gas supplies to Ukraine until oil flows through the Drujba pipeline resume.
“We are gradually stopping gas deliveries from Hungary to Ukraine and will store the remaining gas with us in Hungary”said the Hungarian Prime Minister.
According to the cited data, last year Ukraine received approximately 44% of its gas imports through Hungary. However, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that the country is prepared for a possible disruption, having alternative supply routes available from the European Union.
The energy crisis between the two states is also related to the situation of the Drujba pipeline, through which Russia delivers oil to Hungary and Slovakia. Deliveries have been suspended since January 27 following a drone attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said repairs take time, but Viktor Orban and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accuse Kiev of deliberately delaying the work, in a political pressure move linked to support for Ukraine and Budapest's opposition to its EU membership.
