2026-02-22 20:17
publication
2026-02-22 20:17
Hungary will block the 20th package of European Union sanctions against Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on Sunday. He added that until the transport of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline is resumed, Budapest will not allow “important decisions for Kiev” to be made.
“At tomorrow's meeting of foreign ministers, the European Union intends to adopt the 20th package of sanctions. Hungary will block it. Until Ukraine resumes the transit of crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline, we will not allow important decisions for Kiev to be made,” announced the head of Hungarian diplomacy.
Ministers are scheduled to discuss the 20th package of sanctions against Russia on Monday. As announced, it is to be adopted on Tuesday, on the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. The most controversial issue is the introduction of a total ban on the transport of Russian oil by sea. This ban is intended to replace the price ceiling used so far, which allows the provision of transport services, but only if the transported oil is sold below the agreed price.
As EU sources told PAP earlier this week, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia and Malta express reservations about the package. On Friday, ambassadors of EU member states failed to reach an agreement on this matter. For the sanctions proposed by the EC to come into force, the consent of all member states will be required.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban convened the National Energy Security Council on Sunday in connection with “blackmail by Ukraine, which blocked the supply of cheap Russian oil to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline.”
– The threat has been averted. Currently, there is no threat to the security of supplies in Hungary, and the country can continue to function normally, the Prime Minister assured in a recording published online.
In response to the interruption of supplies, Hungary and Slovakia released their strategic oil reserves, stopped the supply of diesel to Ukraine and threatened to suspend the transmission of electricity and, in the case of Hungary, gas. The head of Hungarian diplomacy said on Friday that Budapest will also block the PLN 90 billion EU loan to Ukraine until the resumption of oil transit to Hungary.
– Our enemy is not the Ukrainian nation, but bad Ukrainian policy, Orban stressed.
The Druzhba oil pipeline, the main route carrying Russian crude oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia, has been out of service since late January 2026, when it was damaged by Russian attacks. The operator of the Ukrainian oil pipeline system, Ukrtransnafta, said on Friday that the oil pipeline had been seriously damaged and was being repaired.
Budapest and Bratislava, however, maintain that the authorities in Kiev are deliberately delaying the restoration of gas transport. According to the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kiev's “political blackmail” is aimed at putting pressure on Hungary to meet demands regarding “support for the war, enabling the export of Hungarians' money to Ukraine and admitting Ukraine to the EU.”
The Hungarian side also assures that there are “no technical or physical reasons” why transit has not been restored, without providing evidence to support its claim.
Jakub Bawołek from Budapest (PAP)
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