Ukraine halts Russian oil transit to Hungary amid legal hurdles

Ukrainians have halted the transit of Russian oil to Hungary, reports "Rzeczpospolita." However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that "certain legal complications" have emerged and are currently being addressed. Budapest aims for Russian oil to bypass Ukraine.

Russian oil has stopped flowing through the pipeline via Ukraine. Unfortunately, in the current situation, Lukoil cannot deliver oil to Hungary. We are currently working on resolving the legal issues that have suddenly arisen," said Szijjarto, quoted by "Rzeczpospolita."

Lukoil is the largest oil supplier to the Hungarian company MOL. The oil is transported through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline that runs through Ukraine. Via this route, MOL receives two-thirds of its supplies, which are then refined in plants in Hungary and Slovakia. The authorities in Budapest have announced that this situation will only last until 2025, after which MOL will start sourcing oil from other suppliers, reports "Rz."

However, Hungarians are still circumventing EU sanctions on trading oil with Russia. The same situation applies to gas. "Rz" adds that after Russia invaded Ukraine, relations between Budapest and Moscow have significantly tightened. This primarily benefits the Hungarian budget, as the government has imposed an additional tax on certain companies operating in the country, including MOL.

During the UN General Assembly, Peter Szijjarto discussed the plans to end the transit through Ukraine with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. At the time, he admitted that from Hungary's point of view, Russian oil is crucial for energy security.

"Rzeczpospolita" reminds us that Hungary is currently the largest recipient of Russian energy resources among EU countries. After the Russian aggression against Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia also utilized Brussels' permission to continue using Lukoil supplies. However, these two countries are gradually transitioning to other sources of imports, even though Slovnaft, part of MOL, still refines Russian oil.