Hungary accuses Ukraine of ‘oil blockade,’ places soldiers at energy

Hungary has accused Ukraine of disrupting oil supplies it gets from Russia and has stationed troops at critical energy facilities across the country as Prime Minister Viktor Orban ramps up the rhetoric around energy and national security ahead of parliamentary elections in April.

Orban on Wednesday accused Kyiv of imposing an “oil blockade” on Hungary by delaying the reopening of the Druzhba pipeline which supplies it, and neighboring Slovakia, with Russian oil.

Ukraine shut the pipeline a month ago, saying a Russian strike had damaged it, but Hungary’s leader accused Kyiv of deliberately keeping the pipeline closed for “political” rather than “technical” reasons.

“The Ukrainian government is exerting pressure on the Hungarian and Slovak governments through an oil blockade,” Orban said in a video on X following a meeting of the Hungarian Defence Council on Wednesday.

“They will not stop there,” he claimed, adding: “They are preparing further actions to disrupt Hungary’s energy system,” without further details or evidence.

Orban said he had “ordered the strengthening of the protection for critical energy infrastructure. That means that ⁠soldiers ​and the necessary equipment to repel potential attacks will be deployed near key ​energy facilities.”

“The police will also patrol with increased forces around designated power plants, distribution stations and control centers,” he said. Drones were also banned in the north-east border region with Ukraine.

Ukraine has not publicly responded to the accusations and CNBC has contacted the country’s foreign ministry for a response.

The ramping up of rhetoric around energy and national security, and an increase in anti-Ukraine sentiment, comes as Hungary’s leadership fights to stay in power ahead of a parliamentary election in April.

Orban’s right-wing Fidesz party is trailing in most independent polls while former party insider and center-right challenger, Peter Magyar, is leading voter surveys ahead of the April 12 vote.

EU countries Hungary and Slovakia have continued to import Russian oil and gas despite the bloc attempting to curb — and wanting to outright ban — such imports, with both countries saying their economies and citizens rely on cheap Russian energy supplies.

The relationship with Russia goes deeper than just energy, however, with the leaders of both countries, Hungary’s Orban and Slovakian PM Robert Fico, both having good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin while having frosty relations with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On Thursday morning, Orban posted an open letter to Zelenskyy on Facebook, accusing him of “working for four years to force Hungary into the…