The announcement is the latest escalation in a dispute between Budapest and Kyiv that saw Orbán blocking the EU’s loan to Ukraine, while accusing the other side of stalling on the pipeline repairs. This comes at a moment when global energy prices are rising due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, though Orbán stressed his country’s gas remains among the cheapest in Europe.
“To break the oil blockade and ensure Hungary’s secure energy supply, action is now needed. We will gradually halt gas shipments from Hungary to Ukraine and store the remaining gas domestically,” Orbán explained.
But Ukraine disagrees.
“If Prime Minister Orbán still decides to stop it, we believe that the only consequence of this will be to deprive the economy of Hungary and Hungarians of more than a billion dollars,” spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Heorhii Tykhyi said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.
“It is his business if he wants to do it. Ukraine currently has the necessary volumes of gas. Ukraine knows where to get the necessary volumes of gas even if Hungary stops supplies,” he added, despite reports that a complete stop to gas deliveries would hurt his country as it continues to face energy shortages since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The Hungarian prime minister is in full campaign mode ahead of the April 12 election — and he seems to be feeling the heat from the opposition.