Volodymyr Zelenskyy bluntly claimed that Ukraine has no intention whatsoever of restarting oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, placing Hungarian and Slovak energy security in serious jeopardy. Viktor Orbán responded by calling on the European Commission to enforce treaty obligations on Kyiv.
Balázs Orbán, political director to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, said the first week of Hungary’s election campaign took place amid an alleged Ukrainian oil blockade and rising Middle East tensions, while claiming Fidesz had taken an early lead in signatures and polling.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that Hungary and Slovakia will establish a joint investigative committee to examine the halted Druzhba pipeline, urging Ukraine to grant access and restart oil transits immediately.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has ordered reinforced protection of Hungary’s critical energy infrastructure, citing intelligence reports of possible Ukrainian sabotage. The move comes amid escalating tensions over the Druzhba pipeline and accusations that Kyiv is using energy pressure to interfere in Hungary’s upcoming election.
Hungary’s humanitarian strategy was summarized by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who once said: ‘Let us not bring the trouble here, but take the help there where the trouble is.’
Péter Magyar of the Tisza Party claimed 250,000 signatures were collected on the first day. However, the Center for Fundamental Rights has reached out to Hungary’s National Election Office (NVI) for the official numbers, which revealed that Tisza had collected less than half of the claimed number, 110,000 by 4pm on the first day. By contrast, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party collected 196,000 signatures in the same period.
Hungary and Slovakia have escalated pressure on Ukraine to restore oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, with Viktor Orbán threatening to block a €90 billion EU loan and Robert Fico warning to halt electricity exports. Kyiv has rejected the demands as ‘blackmail’, accusing both governments of acting irresponsibly and undermining regional energy security.
In a recent episode of the Brussels Playbook Podcast, POLITICO’s Chief EU Correspondent Zoya Sheftalovich has explained that the EU leadership is hiding information about Ukraine’s planned accession to help Péter Magyar defeat Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the upcoming Hungarian elections. If PM Orbán does prevail, the EU is even willing to strip Hungary of its voting rights, she also revealed.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Budapest after the Munich Security Conference to meet senior Hungarian officials for talks on peace initiatives, regional security, and energy cooperation. The announcement follows Viktor Orbán’s planned Washington trip to attend the inauguration meeting of Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.
Hungary would be required to set up a 23,000-capacity migrant camp under the EU’s Migration Pact, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s chief domestic security adviser said, stressing that Hungary has chosen a different approach to migration.