The European Commission has convened an extraordinary meeting of the Oil Coordination Group after Hungary and Slovakia halted diesel deliveries to Ukraine, further escalating the dispute surrounding the Druzhba oil pipeline, Euronews reported. The move follows an incident in which a section of the pipeline running through Ukraine was knocked out of service due to a Russian attack, creating renewed tensions in the region’s energy supply.
As Hungary Today reported, Hungary and Slovakia halted diesel exports to Ukraine on Wednesday after a Russian strike put a section of the pipeline on Ukrainian territory out of operation. Both countries — depending heavily on Russian crude transported through the pipeline — claim that Kyiv is intentionally postponing repairs for political reasons.
The Commission announced on Thursday that the extraordinary meeting will take place next Wednesday, with the participation of Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia.
We have called an ad hoc Oil Coordination Group meeting to discuss the impact of the supply disruption and possible alternatives to fuel supply,”
Euronews cites Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen as saying.
Hungary has asked the Commission to help enable the transport of seaborne Russian oil via Croatia’s Adriatic pipeline as an alternative supply route. While Croatia has declined the request, the Commission sought to distance itself from reports suggesting it had pressured Kyiv to speed up repairs of the pipeline. Itkonen said the Commission is in contact with the Ukrainian authorities regarding the timeline for repairing the pipeline and stressed that this should not be interpreted as any form of pressure on Ukraine.
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The Commission stated that both Hungary and Slovakia have sufficient oil reserves and that their security of supply is not under immediate threat. At the same time, it expressed concern about Ukraine’s broader energy situation. “We are concerned with the security of supply of Ukraine, finding itself in an extremely difficult situation during a harsh winter,” said Paula Pinho, the Commission’s chief spokesperson.
In contrast with the Commission’s statement on the sufficient reserves, Hungary’s oil and gas company MOL has made a precautionary step ordering 500,000 tons of crude oil by sea after the Druzhba pipeline ceased operating in order to prevent supply disruptions.
“In an initial step, MOL ordered 500,000 tons of crude oil by sea,” said Gergely Gulyás, Minister heading the Prime Minister’s Office, at Thursday’s government briefing. He added that this is not a one-off order: the aim is to continuously secure supplies via the Adriatic route until Druzhba resumes operations. He noted that there are limited alternatives, as only two pipelines are available for crude oil. The Adriatic pipeline ends at a Croatian port, so the oil must be transported there. He recalled a previous dispute between MOL and Croatia’s Janaf over Adriatic pipeline capacities but said that oil can be imported in this volume.
As he noted, it is obvious that a political decision was made and that the Ukrainians shut down Druzhba — a claim he said they have “objective, factual” knowledge of.
Hungary could respond to the fact that no Russian crude has arrived via Druzhba for weeks by suspending electricity and gas supplies to Ukraine,
he suggested.
Ukraine’s electricity demand fluctuates significantly due to war damage. During peak periods, 10–15% of consumption is covered by imports, mainly from Hungary (35–45%), and to a lesser extent from Slovakia, Romania, and Poland, Világgazdaság reports. Outside peak periods, however, imports are not necessary; last summer, for instance, significant volumes of electricity originating from Ukraine were traded on the Hungarian power exchange.
In Ukraine, the role of imports has increased in gas supply: in 2025, about a quarter of consumption was covered by foreign sources. The question is how Ukraine can compensate for the possible loss of Hungarian imports.
Hungary was the largest supplier (45% of imports),
but Ukraine is seeking diversification: increasing volumes of gas are arriving via Poland, capacities are expanding, and U.S. LNG is also being delivered along this route.
Imports are therefore crucial to Ukraine’s energy supply; however, in the longer term, restoring its own generation and grid capacity will be the decisive factor.
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Via Euronews, Világgazdaság, Featured image: Hungary Today
The post Commission Worries About Ukraine While Zelenskyy Shuts Pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia appeared first on Hungary Today.
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