An increasingly heated dispute is breaking out between Budapest and Kiev over the planned visit of a Hungarian delegation to Ukraine that wants to check the condition of the “Druzhba” (“Friendship”) oil pipeline.
03/12/2026, 02:1803/12/2026, 02:18
Because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he knew nothing about such a trip, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto accused him of lying. “The Ukrainian president is lying” that the Ukrainians were informed about the upcoming visit in an official note, wrote Szijjarto on Facebook.
Frosty relationship: Viktor Orban and Volodymyr Zelenskyj at a meeting in 2024.Image: keystone
The counterattack from Kiev came immediately: “Perhaps they have already forgotten what bilateral relations are, but official visits are an agreement and not a “dropped note,” said Zelenskyy’s advisor Dmytro Lytvyn, according to the Internet portal “Ukrainskaya Pravda.”
The dispute revolves around Budapest’s demand for immediate repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline, which was damaged by Russian attacks. Until recently, Russian oil flowed via Ukraine to Hungary via this line – despite the war against the neighboring country ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin four years ago.
Kiev explained that the line had been so badly damaged that it could not be put back into operation until at least a month and a half – after the parliamentary elections in Hungary. Budapest doubts this statement and insists on inspecting the pipeline itself. Prime Minister Viktor Orban is trying to make up for his deficit in the polls with anti-Ukrainian tones during the election campaign. (sda/dpa)