Orbán threatens to use 'force' against Ukraine over Druzhba oil route
Photo: Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary (Getty Images)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has once again accused Ukraine of allegedly blocking the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline and threatened to restore it by force, according to Orbán’s statement during his election campaign.
Read also: Zelenskyy slams Orbán for blocking €90 billion loan for Ukraine
In particular, he once again repeated his claim that Druzhba oil deliveries were halted allegedly because of Ukraine and emphasized that no agreements will be made.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orbán has once again accused #Ukraine of allegedly blocking the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline and threatened to restore it by force pic.twitter.com/HuGvF6oHv8
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) March 5, 2026
"There will be no agreements, no compromises. We will forcibly break Ukraine’s oil blockade. Hungary’s oil will soon flow through the Druzhba pipeline again," the Hungarian prime minister stated.
Orbán’s pre-election strategy
Orbán’s loud, hostile statements toward Ukraine are linked to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Hungary. The prime minister is using the image of an "external enemy" and foreign pressure as part of his election campaign strategy.
However, this approach is not helping him much — the Hungarian opposition party Tisa has, for the first time, significantly overtaken Orbán’s ruling Fidesz. The lead has grown to 12 percentage points, putting the prime minister’s 16-year rule at risk.
Problems with the Druzhba pipeline
At the end of February, Viktor Orbán held talks with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. According to Orbán, both leaders disagree with the notion that restoring the Druzhba pipeline is impossible due to technical issues.
Orbán noted that, for this reason, Hungary and Slovakia want to create a so-called "investigative commission" and are demanding access to the facility from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Recently, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Russia struck the Druzhba pipeline, after which oil transit to Slovakia and Hungary was halted.
Subsequently, authorities in Budapest and Bratislava began blaming Ukraine. According to the Hungarian and Slovak governments, Ukraine allegedly does not want to resume transit for political reasons.
