Hungary is beefing up security at its energy sites as Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accuses Ukraine of threatening his country’s energy supply. Orbán — a vocal ally of President Donald Trump — published a scathing open letter to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in which he accused Kyiv of pursing an “anti-Hungarian policy.”
“In recent days, you have blocked the Friendship oil pipeline, which is critical to Hungary’s energy supply,” Orbán’s open letter, which he published on X, read. “Your actions are against Hungary’s interests and endanger the secure and affordable energy supply of Hungarian families. I therefore call on you to change your anti-Hungarian policy!”
On Wednesday, Orbán ordered increased security at critical energy infrastructure sites, The Associated Press reported. The prime minister’s order came as Budapest accused Ukraine of blocking the Druzhba pipeline, through which Russian oil is delivered to Hungary, but it crosses Kyiv’s territory. Ukrainian officials have denied the allegations, according to the AP, saying that the pipeline was hit in a Russian drone attack.
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In a video posted on social media, Orbán claimed Ukraine was using an “oil blockade” to pressure Hungary and that Hungarian national security services showed Ukraine was “preparing further actions to disrupt the operation of Hungary’s energy system,” the AP reported.
“We will deploy soldiers and the necessary equipment to repel attacks near key energy facilities,” Orbán said, according to the AP. “The police will patrol with increased forces around designated power plants, distribution stations and control centers.”
The accusations lobbed against Ukraine also come as Orbán faces an upcoming election. As the election nears, Hungary has seen billboards across the country showing AI-generated images of Zelenskyy holding out his hand as if asking for money while surrounded by European officials, according to the AP.
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Hungary recently threatened to block a proposed €90 billion European Union loan to Ukraine — worth roughly $106 billion — over the blockade of the Druzhba pipeline.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday that “Ukraine is blackmailing” his country and that Kyiv was coordinating with Belgium and the Hungarian opposition to “push fuel prices higher before the elections.”
“By blocking oil transit to Hungary through the Druzhba pipeline, Ukraine violates the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, breaching its commitments to the European Union. We will not give in to this blackmail,” Szijjártó added.
Orbán also accused Ukraine, the Hungarian opposition and Belgium of coordinating to exert pressure on Budapest.
In the letter released Thursday, Orbán, who has a close relationship with the Kremlin, also said Ukraine had refused “to accept the position of the sovereign Hungarian government and the Hungarian people regarding the Russia–Ukraine war.” Additionally, he accused Ukraine of trying to “force Hungary” into the war with Russia.
“We, the Hungarian people, are not responsible for the situation in which Ukraine finds itself. We sympathize with the Ukrainian people, but we do not wish to participate in the war. We do not want to finance the war effort, and we do not want to pay more for energy,” Orbán wrote.
The Hungarian prime minister ended his letter with demands that Ukraine reopen the oil pipeline and “refrain from any further attacks on Hungary’s energy security,” as well as a demand for “more respect for Hungary.”
Neither Zelenskyy’s office nor the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.
