Hungary’s Orbán vows to forcefully end oil blockade against Ukraine
Hungarian Premier Viktor Orbán vowed to break the oil blockade by force, intensifying the crisis between Hungary and Ukraine amid financial disputes.
The EU is preparing to negotiate with Hungary to unblock the €90 billion loan to Ukraine before the looming April deadlines.
Hungary and Ukraine are racing toward critical deadlines in April, with financial stability at risk for Ukraine and elections for Orbán looming on 12 April.
Briefing summary
The Druzhba pipeline has been down since late January, with Kyiv blaming Russia for the explosion that halted oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia.
Hungary’s Premier Viktor Orbán stated he would take action to break the oil blockade, while Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the remark as a death threat.
Both leaders face pressing deadlines; if the EU loan to Ukraine isn’t unblocked by early April, the country risks financial collapse amid Orbán’s upcoming elections.
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Watch: Hungary’s elections, Ukraine’s loan — as the April deadline nears, tensions boil over
As the old Hollywood rule goes, attributed to Alfred Hitchcock, a good thriller starts with an explosion, followed by rising tension.
In the ongoing crisis between Hungary and Ukraine, the blast was a literal pipeline.
Since late January, the Druzhba pipeline has been down. Kyiv blames Russia for the explosion, halting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
Budapest, on the other hand, accuses Kyiv of exploiting the disruption and is blocking a critical €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine.
But escalation did not stop at financial vetoes. Hungarian Premier Viktor Orbán vowed to break the oil blockade by force, although he did not explain how.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired back, suggesting he would give Ukrainian troops Orbán’s phone number. Budapest condemned the remark as a death threat.
But there is a bigger picture. Both leaders are racing against brutal April deadlines. If the Ukraine loan is not unblocked by early April, Ukraine will run out of money, facing devastating cuts to public services.
Meanwhile, Orbán faces key elections on 12 April, and opposing Kyiv is his strategy to win.
That leaves the EU rushing to break the veto and deliver the cash before Ukraine goes broke, while trying not to look like it is picking a side in Hungary.
Finding that balance is really hard when this political thriller is building toward its breaking point – so take a deep breath, because the final scene is about to begin.