Hungary’s outgoing prime minister said he will approve the funding if oil transit is restored as promised by Kyiv.
Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Sunday signaled readiness to lift his veto over a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine before leaving office — if Kyiv restores the flow of oil to Hungary.
In an unexpected development, Orbán said that he will approve the much-needed loan to Ukraine if Kyiv repairs Druzhba pipeline — which might happen as early as Monday.
This could provide immediate relief for Ukraine’s war-battered economy as it seeks to defend itself from Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Once oil deliveries are restored, we will no longer stand in the way of approving the loan,” Orbán wrote on X Sunday afternoon.
Approving the financial lifeline to Kyiv could be among his last actions as Hungarian prime minister — a surprising turnaround for a leader who has weaponized anti-Ukraine sentiment for years. Orbán is set to step down in mid-May after losing last Sunday’s election to opposition leader Péter Magyar.
The Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia has been at the center of a diplomatic quagmire between the EU and Hungary. In February, Orbán vetoed the EU’s €90 billion loan after Ukraine seemed to refuse to repair the infrastructure that was damaged by Russian strikes.
But in a sudden turnaround, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised to repair the Druzhba infrastructure by the end of April shortly after Magyar won the election last weekend. There are high hopes in Kyiv that Hungary’s incoming leader will mend ties with Ukraine after years of bad blood under Orbán.
“Through Brussels, we have received an indication from Ukraine that they are ready to restore oil deliveries via the Friendship pipeline as early as Monday,” Orbán wrote.
He said that his stance has been consistent all along. “Hungary’s position has not changed: no oil = no money.”
The financial operation won’t impose any cost on Hungarian taxpayers, as the country has been exempted from paying interest rates on the loan.