Hungary’s Orbán plans oil pipeline fact-finding mission to Ukraine
Hungary plans to send a ministerial fact-finding mission to Ukraine to investigate damage to the Druzhba pipeline, a key channel for Russian oil to the landlocked country, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette.
The mission, ordered by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, will be led by a deputy minister from the Energy Ministry and will include a representative from the Hungarian energy company MOL.
Until the end of January, Hungary and neighboring Slovakia received Russian oil via the pipeline on which they are heavily dependent.
While Ukrainian authorities report that the pipeline was damaged by Russian attacks, the Hungarian and Slovak governments maintain that the interruption of supplies through the pipelines is the result of a political decision by kyiv rather than technical problems.
Ukraine denies, saying the pipeline was hit by a Russian drone, causing a fire that damaged underground control systems.
“This damage is not visible from the outside, but will nevertheless require large-scale repairs,” said Ukrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal.
The Hungarian fact-finding mission requires permission from kyiv to assess the damage and is seen as a symbolic act by Orbán, whose relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are strained.
Orbán hopes this will put more pressure on Ukraine to make the pipeline operational again.
Zelensky said in kyiv on Thursday that the cessation of oil deliveries to Hungary also had a political dimension.
“It’s Russian oil,” he told reporters after a government meeting. “They are killing us and we should supply Orbán with oil, because the poor man cannot win the elections without it?”
Zelensky also said that if the European Union wanted to tie financial aid to Ukraine to pipeline repairs, it should say so openly.
He added that the pipeline would likely not resume operations for at least six weeks – a deadline that would fall after Hungary’s April 12 parliamentary elections, in which Orbán’s Fidesz party faces defeat according to opinion polls.
Since the pipeline stopped operating, Orbán – who has good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin – has blocked a large EU loan to Ukraine and resisted further EU sanctions against Russia.
Hungary’s dependence on Russian oil and gas has increased since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, helping Russia finance its military operations, while the EU as a whole sought to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies.
