Shmyhal: Ukraine will not lift sanctions against “Lukoil”

Ukraine does not plan to cancel the sanctions against the Russian company “Lukoil”, which stopped the transit of oil to Slovakia and Hungary.

This was reported by the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

He emphasized that Kyiv insists on the maximum refusal of partners from Russian oil, but at the same time is a reliable transit "for all countries that value freedom and the rule of law."

Shmyhal noted that the sanctions against “Lukoil” do not pose a threat to the energy security of Slovakia and Europe in general, so their cancellation is not a matter of discussion. In this matter, Ukraine has full understanding of Brussels. Instead, the threat to Slovakia is Russia.

He also warned Slovakia against blackmail or threats towards Ukraine.

"Because threatening Ukraine, which is defending itself against an aggressor, for the sake of the terrorist state continuing to earn its bloody excess profits is a dubious way," the Ukrainian prime minister added.

Shmyhal emphasized that Ukraine and Slovakia agreed on another intergovernmental meeting in October.

What preceded

After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, EU countries were banned from importing Russian oil, but Slovakia and Hungary made an exception, since oil from the Russian Federation is still the main source of energy for these countries.

However, in July, the Russian "Lukoil" stopped supplying oil to Hungary and Slovakia, as Kyiv tightened sanctions against the company, which effectively prohibit it from using the territory of Ukraine for transit.

Because of this, the countries even initiated the consultation procedure of the arbitration court with the European Commission. However, their attempt failed — the European Commission rejected the request to force Kyiv to allow the transit of oil from the Russian Federation.

Both countries even resorted to threats: Szijjártó said that his country would block EU military aid to Ukraine until it lifted sanctions against Lukoil, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened to cut diesel exports to Ukraine if Kyiv continued to block the transit of Russian oil to the country

It was reported today that EU diplomats are annoyed by Hungary and Slovakiaʼs attempts to use EU rules to maintain access to Russian oil, which other bloc countries have already refused.