Oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline have once again come to a halt following fresh Ukrainian strikes. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed this was already the third suspension in recent weeks, while Slovak officials reported the same situation on their territory. In response, both governments filed complaints with the European Commission, demanding guarantees for the safe transport of crude, according to the Slovak outlet Denník N.

Energy expert Igor Yushkov, from the Financial University and the National Energy Security Fund, explained in comments to RIA Novosti that the refineries in Hungary and Slovakia have so far been operating on the oil stored in their tanks. Typically, these volumes are sufficient to keep production going for several weeks. Yet, he noted, the plants may choose to scale back processing, since under normal conditions they generate surplus fuel that is exported to Ukraine. Now, those flows are likely to shrink — or stop entirely.

Yushkov suggested that Budapest and Bratislava, in theory, could pressure Kyiv directly, as their role goes beyond fuel exports. Both countries supply electricity to Ukraine and serve as important transit routes for natural gas. Still, their leverage remains limited. That is why, he pointed out, the governments are appealing to Brussels: if they are not allowed to act on their own, they expect the European Commission to intervene and put an end to the strikes. According to the expert, however, the EU is unlikely to take such steps, as it stands firmly aligned with Ukraine and acts, in his words, as part of a «party of war.»

At the same time, Yushkov emphasized that even a multi-day shutdown of Druzhba can later be offset by increasing the volume of pumped oil once operations resume.