Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán wrote an open letter to Volodymyr Zelensky, calling on the Ukrainian president to “change his anti-Hungarian policy.”
The Prime Minister shared the text of the letter on his Facebook page on Thursday morning. In it, Orbán states that Zelensky has for four years been unable to accept the Hungarian government's position on the Russian-Ukrainian war. He claims that Ukraine has been working for four years to "force Hungary" into the war and has garnered the support of Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to this end.
According to Orbán, "Zelensky, Brussels, and the Hungarian opposition" are taking coordinated steps in order to bring a "pro-Ukrainian" government to power in Hungary. "In recent days, you have shut down the Druzhba (Friendship) oil pipeline, which is crucial to Hungary's energy supply. Your actions are contrary to Hungary's interests and jeopardize the secure and affordable energy provision of Hungarian families. I therefore call on you to change your anti-Hungarian political course!" Orbán wrote in the letter.
According to the Prime Minister, it is not the fault of Hungarians that Ukraine has ended up in this situation. "We feel sorry for the Ukrainian people, but we do not want to participate in the war. We do not want to finance the fighting, and we do not want to pay more for energy," he added. In his letter, Orbán called on Zelensky to immediately reopen the Druzhba oil pipeline and “refrain from further attacks on Hungary's energy security.”
The Druzhba oil pipeline was hit during Russian bombing near the Ukrainian town of Brody in January, leading to the suspension of Russian oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia. Due to the loss of imports, Mol requested the government to release strategic oil reserves at the beginning of last week, which the cabinet approved in the second half of the week. The Hungarian government intends to replace Russian oil with seaborne shipments arriving via the Adria pipeline in Croatia.
According to the Hungarian government, Ukraine is deliberately delaying the resumption of oil shipments via the Druzhba pipeline. Oil deliveries to Slovakia were originally scheduled to resume on February 25, but Ukraine postponed this by one day, until February 26, and the Slovak Ministry of Economy said it had received no explanation for the delay. According to the European Commission, the suspension of deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline is not politically motivated. Based on the information available to the EC, repairs to the Ukrainian section of the pipeline have not yet been completed, and work is ongoing, but is subject to the security situation given the regular Russian attacks.
After Wednesday's meeting of the Defense Council, Viktor Orbán announced that the military will be deployed throughout the country to key energy facilities. The police will also be mobilized and will increase patrols around designated power plants, distribution stations, and control centers. In addition, a ban on drone flights is coming into effect in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg County, which borders Ukraine. The Prime Minister did not specify what kind of attacks may be carried out on Hungary's energy infrastructure.
Ultimatums from “certain member states” unacceptable – Zelensky
Despite requests from the European Commission and demands from the Hungarian government, the Frienship oil pipeline cannot be repaired quickly, Volodymyr Zelensky told Reuters. "They are advising us to repair the pipeline, but they also know that Druzhba has already been attacked several times. It was our people who repaired it so that it could function," said the Ukrainian president, who also pointed out that the Russian army had carried out several attacks on the Ukrainian energy system.
He also said that the Druzhba pipeline was damaged during a Russian act of terror against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, so Russia is solely responsible for the disruption of oil supplies, and Ukraine finds the ultimatums and political pressure from "certain member states" unacceptable.
According to Zelensky, Hungary should approach the Russians and call for a sort of energy ceasefire.
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