Hungary strengthens energy security amid Ukraine tensions
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Wednesday that the country is taking measures to protect its energy infrastructure amid rising tensions with Ukraine. Orban claimed that Ukraine might be planning steps to disrupt Hungary’s energy system and ordered the deployment of soldiers and equipment to safeguard key facilities.
The move comes amid an ongoing dispute over the Druzhba oil pipeline, which carries Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia. Both countries have criticized Ukraine for the prolonged interruption of supplies to their refineries, while Kyiv attributes the outage to a Russian drone strike affecting pipeline equipment in Western Ukraine.
In a statement shared on social media, Orban emphasized that the pipeline disruption was politically motivated and warned of potential further actions against Hungary’s energy network. He stressed that reinforcing critical infrastructure was necessary to prevent any attacks.
Hungary and Slovakia have maintained relatively independent positions from the European Union regarding support for Ukraine, particularly in military and energy matters. Hungary recently vetoed new EU sanctions on Russia and opposed a large loan package for Ukraine, citing disagreements over oil supply issues.
With parliamentary elections approaching in April, Orban has framed the choice as one between “war or peace,” suggesting that his opponents could involve Hungary in the neighboring conflict.
-
19:00
-
18:00
-
17:30
-
17:00
-
16:30
-
16:00
-
16:00
-
15:51
-
15:50
-
15:31
-
15:30
-
15:25
-
15:20
-
15:15
-
15:13
-
15:00
-
14:51
-
14:50
-
14:32
-
14:30
-
14:00
-
13:52
-
13:50
-
13:41
-
13:30
-
13:26
-
13:20
-
13:00
-
12:50
-
12:30
-
12:20
-
12:00
-
11:57
-
11:20
-
10:50
-
10:20
-
09:50
-
09:20
-
08:50
-
08:20
-
07:50
-
07:20
-
07:00