Hungary threatens to stop exporting gas and electricity to Ukraine

Hungary is considering suspending its exports of electricity and natural gas to Ukraine unless the flow of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline is restored.

Source: ExPro, a Ukrainian analytical agency

Details: Gergely Gulyás, Minister of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Office, said at a press briefing that Hungary will take action if Ukraine does not resume Russian oil supplies through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline.

Hungary also plans to coordinate any measures with Slovakia, which has previously threatened to halt electricity supplies to Ukraine.

Gulyás said the government has released strategic oil reserves at the request of the Hungarian state-owned company MOL.

The Hungarian route is one of the main channels for Ukraine's natural gas imports, ExPro reported. The agency estimates that in 2025 Ukraine imported over 2.9 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Hungary – 45% of total imports.

In January 2026, Hungary's share of Ukraine's total gas imports fell slightly to 38%, or 266 million cubic metres.

Quote from ExPro: "The lower share of imports from Hungary was due to more active gas imports from Poland, which accounted for over half of total imports in January 2026."

More details: Gas imports from Slovakia totalled 1.3 billion cubic metres in 2025, accounting for 20% of the overall volume. The Slovak route is less attractive due to higher transit tariffs.

ExPro noted that it is not yet known how a potential suspension of natural gas supplies from Hungary and Slovakia to Ukraine would be implemented in practice.

Gas imports are handled primarily by private companies, including major international traders, which are frequently not local firms. Hungary and Slovakia act as transit countries, and any decision to cut off supplies would breach EU law.

ExPro said that even if gas deliveries to Ukraine were theoretically blocked, the situation would not be critical, as alternative import routes, primarily via Poland, are available to Ukraine.

In addition, Ukraine has nearly 40% more gas reserves in its underground storage facilities than during the same period last year, which would help sustain supplies even if deliveries from Hungary and Slovakia were to stop.

ExPro noted that Hungary is also an important supplier of electricity to Ukraine, accounting for 50% of Ukraine's total electricity imports in February 2026, and estimated that Ukraine imported about 1.4 million MWh from Hungary in 2025, or 42% of total imports.

By contrast, electricity imports from Slovakia accounted for about 18% of total imports in February.

Quote from ExPro: "No restrictions on electricity or natural gas imports have been introduced so far. As regards gas supplies, the discussion is currently focused on potential threats rather than actual measures."

More details: If Hungary follows through on its threat to halt electricity supplies, this could have a noticeable short-term impact on Ukraine given the existing power deficit due to Russian attacks.

As well as making political statements, Hungary and Slovakia have already stopped diesel exports to Ukraine over the lack of Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline.

NaftoRynok, an independent Ukrainian analytical agency that specialises in the oil, gas and petroleum products market, estimates that the Hungarian-Slovak route supplied around 11% of Ukraine's diesel imports in January, ExPro said.

However, due to seasonally low demand and the availability of alternative routes, the halt in exports is not critical to the market and is unlikely to trigger a significant price rise.

The transit of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline was suspended following a Russian strike on pipeline infrastructure in the city of Brody on 27 January.

Quote from ExPro: "The Russian attack caused a major fire that took over 10 days to extinguish. Repairing the damaged facilities may take some time, and no official timeline for resuming transit has been announced."

More details: Hungary and Slovakia are accusing Ukraine of delaying the resumption of Russian oil transit for political reasons. The European Commission is in discussion with Ukraine about Druzhba pipeline repair timelines.

During 2025, Ukraine transported about 9.73 million tonnes of Russian oil through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, down 14% from 2024, when total volumes amounted to 11.36 million tonnes. This is the lowest figure since at least 2014, and probably since 1991 – the entire period of Ukraine's independence.

Background:

• It was reported earlier that Slovakia and Hungary are stopping diesel exports to Ukraine, but the move is not critical for the market and is unlikely to affect prices at Ukrainian filling stations.
• It was also reported that supplies of diesel to Ukraine from Romania, Hungary and Lithuania, which accounted for almost 40% of volumes in September 2025, have fallen fourfold to 71,000 tonnes. Supplies from Poland and Greece have risen by a third to 445,000 tonnes, making up almost 80% of October imports.
• Poland's state-owned energy company Orlen has said it plans to supply more than 1 billion cubic metres of natural gas to Ukraine in 2026.

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