Hungary to halt gas supplies to Ukraine – Orban

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has stated that Hungary will suspend natural gas supplies to Ukraine until oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline are restored. He published the corresponding video statement on Facebook.

According to him, Ukraine will not receive Hungarian gas until the transportation of oil through the Druzhba pipeline is ensured. In this way, the Hungarian government aims to protect the country’s energy security and maintain lower domestic fuel and gas prices, Orbán said.

The Prime Minister added that Hungary will retain in its storage facilities the gas volumes that were previously supplied to Ukraine. He explained this decision by the need to build up reserves amid risks to energy infrastructure.

In addition, Orbán once again claimed that Ukraine is attacking the TurkStream pipeline, through which Hungary receives Russian gas from the south. According to him, this creates additional supply risks and forces the country to increase storage accumulation.

Gas imports from Hungary

According to ExPro estimates, Ukraine imported 2.94 bcm of natural gas from Hungary in 2025, with Hungary’s share in the total import structure reaching 45%. Hungary was one of the most attractive import routes due to relatively low tariffs.

At the same time, in 2026, Hungary’s share has declined, while imports from Poland have taken the leading position. In March 2026, Ukraine imports on average 8.7 mcm of natural gas per day from Hungary, accounting for 34% of total imports.

No interruption of natural gas imports from Hungary has been recorded so far, and existing contracts provide for imports until the end of March. Natural gas from Hungary is imported by both state-owned companies (Naftogaz of Ukraine and GTS Operator of Ukraine) as well as several private companies.

Conflict around Druzhba

As previously reported by ExPro, the transit of Russian oil was halted following damage to the Druzhba pipeline infrastructure in the city of Brody, Lviv region, after a Russian attack on January 27, 2026.

Hungary and Slovakia accuse Ukraine of politically delaying the restoration of Russian oil transit. At the same time, the European Commission is discussing with Ukraine the timeline for restoring the Druzhba pipeline.

The countries have already suspended diesel supplies to Ukraine and are also threatening to halt gas and electricity supplies.

Hungary has also blocked the allocation of a €90 billion loan to Ukraine from the European Union until oil transit via Druzhba is restored.

According to ExPro, Ukraine transported around 9.73 million tons of Russian crude oil via the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline in 2025, down 14% compared to 11.36 million tons in 2024. This is also the lowest level since at least 2014, and likely the lowest in Ukraine’s history since independence in 1991.

The European Commission and Ukraine have agreed on the restoration of Russian oil supplies through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia. However, repairs to the pipeline may take 1.5-2 months.