Budapest has also blocked the EU’s 20th package of sanctions on Russia amid an oil supply row with Kiev
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - FEBRUARY 23: Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks to media in Brussels, Belgium on February 23, 2026. © Getty Images / Thierry Monasse
[RT] Hungary
has blocked the EU’s proposed €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan
for Ukraine, as well as the latest package of sanctions on Russia,
citing Kiev’s allegedly deliberate disruption of oil supplies to the
country.
Hungary placed the double veto on the initiatives on
Monday as Kiev and Budapest remain locked in a bitter row over the
Soviet-era Druzhba oil pipeline – which carries Russian crude to Hungary
and Slovakia and has been out of commission since late January. Kiev
claims that it was damaged by Russia, which has denied the allegations.
Budapest
has echoed Moscow’s stance, accusing Kiev of deliberately withholding
supplies for political reasons and subjecting the country to an “oil blockade,” and threatening retaliation.
“Ukrainians cannot blackmail us; they cannot jeopardize the security of Hungary’s energy supply by colluding with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition. No, a clear no,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said
after a meeting of the bloc’s top diplomats to discuss the loan and
sanctions package.
EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said the
bloc’s leadership expected the measures to be approved at the meeting,
adding that it was a major setback and a “message we did not want to send today.”
The €90 billion loan was agreed to in December, when Hungary,
Slovakia, and the Czech Republic secured an opt-out scheme, allowing
them to not contribute to the scheme financially.
Hungary, as well
as the other nation affected by the oil supply disruption, Slovakia,
has threatened retaliation over the Druzhba issue, demanding that Kiev
resume its operations immediately.
Last week, both countries
announced that they would suspend diesel exports to Ukraine until the
pipeline becomes operational again. This weekend, Slovak Prime Minister
Robert Fico also threatened to stop providing Ukraine with emergency
electricity supply unless Kiev restores oil deliveries within two days.
Fico
said on Monday that he will keep his promise, raising the issue with
the nation’s electricity provider. In January alone, Kiev received more
emergency electricity from Slovakia than throughout 2025 to stabilize
its energy grid amid Russian long-range strikes, he noted.