Hungary stands to lose over $1 billion due to Orbán’s decision to halt gas supplies to Ukraine, — Foreign Ministry

Orbán’s decision will cost Hungary a billion dollars in losses

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stated that Hungary is suffering economic losses as a result of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s decision to halt gas supplies to Ukraine.

He made this statement during a conversation with journalists, according to Censor.NET, citing "EP".

Orbán's decision will result in losses for Hungary

Tikhyi noted that these imports have not yet been halted.

"If Prime Minister Orbán does decide to shut it down, we believe the only consequence will be a loss of over a billion dollars to the Hungarian economy and the Hungarian people," said the ministry spokesperson.

He said that over the past year, Hungary had received "over a billion dollars from these gas exports to Ukraine."

"The only consequence will be that Viktor Orbán will take this billion dollars out of the pockets of Hungarians. It’s his business if he wants to do that. Ukraine currently has the necessary gas supplies. Ukraine knows where to obtain the necessary gas supplies even if Hungary were to cut off its supply," Tykhyi stated.

The spokesperson noted that, unlike Hungary, Ukraine is "a diversified country and took the necessary steps in the past to ensure that its energy supplies were diversified."

Hungary is halting gas supplies

As a reminder, on March 25, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that he was halting gas supplies to Ukraine.

The Blocking of Aid and the "Friendship" Issue

Financial aid to Ukraine is currently on hold due to the stance taken by Hungary and Slovakia, as unanimous support from all EU member states is required for its approval.

Budapest is making its approval contingent on the resumption of operations on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary. This refers to the section damaged by a drone attack in January.

Russia's attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline

On January 7, a piece of infrastructure was damaged in Brody, Lviv region, as a result of a Russian attack. Naftogaz reported that the Russian military had attacked a critical infrastructure facility in western Ukraine. A fire broke out, and operations at the facility were halted.
According to the publication Enkorr, the facility in question is located in the city of Brody in the Lviv region and is connected to the Druzhba oil pipeline.
On February 12, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline had been suspended since January 27 due to a Russian attack. He also said that Budapest was preparing to lodge a complaint regarding transit issues.
The governments of Hungary and Slovakia have announced a suspension of diesel fuel exports to Ukraine until Russian oil supplies resume via the Druzhba pipeline.
On March 11, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that a group of Hungarian citizens had entered Ukrainian territory without official status or scheduled official meetings.
President Zelenskyy stated that he is unaware of what the Hungarian delegation is doing in Ukraine.
Subsequently, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Zelenskyy of lying and published a Hungarian diplomatic note indicating that Budapest had requested a meeting between Cepec and Ukrainian Minister Denys Shmyhal.
At the same time, the Foreign Ministry's note indicates that the Hungarian side did not coordinate its delegation's visit to the Druzhba oil pipeline with Ukraine and received proposals from Kyiv regarding alternative dates for the visit.