Hungary to Stop Supplying Gas to Ukraine; Viktor Orban

HUNGARY – The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Wednesday that Hungary will stop supplying gas to Ukraine until Kyiv restores the flow of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline.

“In order to break the blockade and ensure Hungary’s energy supply, new measures are now necessary. Therefore, we will gradually stop gas supplies….. until Ukraine supplies oil,” Orban said in a video address.

“As long as Ukraine does not provide oil, it will not receive gas from Hungary,” he added.

He stated that now Hungary will be filling its own gas storage facilities, taking into account that Ukraine was attacking the TurkStream pipeline which delivers Russian gas to Hungary through Turkey and the Balkans.

“We will defend Hungary’s energy security, the protected petrol price, and the reduced gas prices,” he said, adding that Hungary have so far been able to protect itself from Ukrainian blackmail.

Ukraine stopped the Russian oil supply to Hungary in January, citing damage from Russian attacks.

Hungary responded by halting diesel supplies, blocking the 20th round of EU sanctions on Russia and later the EU’s €90 billion loan to Kyiv.