Orban wrote an open letter to Zelensky — called for changing the “anti-Hungarian policy” and opening “Druzhba”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote an open letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, accusing him of anti-Hungarian policies and calling for the opening of the “Druzhba” oil pipeline.

He published the letter on the social network X.

The Hungarian prime minister has once again accused the Ukrainian president of interfering in the election and trying to drag his country into war with Russia. He says Zelenskyʼs actions "go against Hungaryʼs interests" and "put at risk the secure energy supply of Hungarian families".

"For four years, you have worked to force Hungary to join the war between your country and Russia. During this time, you have received the support of Brussels and enlisted the support of the Hungarian opposition. We also see that you, Brussels, and the Hungarian opposition are coordinating efforts to bring a pro-Ukrainian government to power in Hungary," Orban addressed Zelensky.

The Hungarian people, he said, sympathize with Ukraine, but do not want to participate in the war. Therefore, he called on the Ukrainian president to change "his anti-Hungarian policy".

Orban also called on Zelensky to immediately restore the “Druzhba” oil pipeline and refrain from “any further attacks on Hungary’s energy security”. He added that Budapest “does not want to finance the war effort and does not want to pay more for energy”.

Stopping “Druzhba” and threats from Slovakia and Hungary

Oil transit through Ukraine via the “Druzhba” pipeline was halted in late January due to massive Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. As landlocked countries, Hungary and Slovakia are critically dependent on this route for Russian energy supplies.

On February 18, the governments of Hungary and Slovakia reported that the countries were stopping diesel exports to Ukraine, and later threatened to stop electricity supplies as well.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that his country will not allow important decisions for Kyiv to be made until Ukraine resumes the transit of Russian oil through the “Druzhba” oil pipeline. In particular, Hungary blocked the 20th package of sanctions against Russia and promised to do the same with the EU loan of €90 billion for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called these threats from Hungary and Slovakia blackmail and noted that they are ready to use the Early Warning Mechanism, a tool within the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU that allows the parties to quickly respond to threats in the energy sector.

On February 23, the Prime Minister of Slovakia reported that the country would stop providing emergency electricity assistance to Ukraine. Hungary threatened to do the same, but the countryʼs Foreign Minister said that this issue should be acted "extremely carefully", as it could affect Hungarians in Transcarpathia.

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