Hungary said it will use “every means” to press its case in a growing dispute with Kyiv over interrupted Russian oil supplies to Budapest and Bratislava. The row centers on damage to the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian crude to parts of Central Europe. Hungary and Slovakia, both EU members, have accused Ukraine of delaying repairs for political reasons — an allegation Kyiv rejects.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Ukraine of blackmail and said Hungary has halted gasoline shipments to Ukraine and has stopped supplying diesel. He said electricity deliveries continue for now but that other transit and supplies important to Ukraine would be suspended until Kyiv approves oil flows, according to remarks on state radio.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the pipeline would need another four to six weeks before it could be fully operational. Sergiy Koretsky, head of state energy firm Naftogaz, said crews are working on a bypass around damaged sections but that the risk of Russian attacks is complicating and slowing repair work.
The dispute over the pipeline has coincided with a separate confrontation: Hungarian authorities detained seven Ukrainians on suspicion of money laundering and announced they would expel them. Kyiv says the detainees include employees of state-owned Oschadbank and accused Hungary of effectively taking them hostage, advising Ukrainians to avoid travel to Hungary.
Hungary said the detained individuals were operating two bank vehicles traveling between Austria and Ukraine; GPS data reportedly showed the cars in central Budapest near a Hungarian law enforcement agency. Ukraine’s foreign ministry described the arrests as “state terrorism and racketeering.”
Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration confirmed the detentions, including a former secret service general, and said criminal proceedings are under way in cooperation with the Counter-Terrorism Center. Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said all seven would be expelled. Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó demanded explanations from Kyiv about large cash shipments moving through Hungary, suggesting a possible link to what he called a “Ukrainian war mafia.”
Bilateral tensions have been rising for years. Orbán has taken a comparatively conciliatory stance toward Russia since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and relations have further deteriorated as he increased political pressure on Kyiv ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary vote on April 12. He has opposed several EU aid packages and sanctions on Russia and recently blocked a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine while conditioning cooperation on the pipeline being reopened.