Peter Magyar, the winner of Hungary’s recent parliamentary elections and the country’s incoming prime minister, has appealed directly to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to restore oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline as soon as possible. The statement by Hungary’s new leader shows that despite the political change in Budapest, energy security remains one of the most important issues in relations between Hungary and Ukraine.
Magyar said on April 20 that if the infrastructure on the Ukrainian side is ready to resume transporting oil, it should be reopened in line with earlier promises. At the same time, he stressed that Russia should also resume pumping oil through the pipeline in accordance with existing contracts. In this way, the future Hungarian prime minister sought to show that responsibility for restoring supplies lies not only with Ukraine, but also with Russia.
The dispute over the Druzhba pipeline has continued since late January, when infrastructure in western Ukraine was damaged in a Russian drone strike, halting the transit of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. Kyiv maintains that the disruption was a direct consequence of the Russian attack, while Budapest and Bratislava have for months accused Ukraine of delaying repairs and politically exploiting the energy crisis.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview broadcast on April 20 that the pipeline should be restored to operation by the end of April. That declaration has become an important reference point for the new authorities in Budapest, who want to stabilize relations with Ukraine as quickly as possible, while at the same time making clear that they will not give up firmly defending Hungary’s energy interests.
The importance of the issue goes far beyond oil transit itself. For months, Viktor Orbán’s government blocked a European Union loan worth 90 billion euros for Ukraine, linking that decision to the problem of supplies through Druzhba. The EU has already confirmed the legal framework for that support, and the European Commission has indicated that, after the political change in Hungary, the release of funds for Kyiv could become possible very quickly.
In that sense, Magyar’s appeal to Zelenskyy has a dual dimension. On the one hand, it is pressure for the rapid restoration of oil flows that are crucial for the Hungarian economy. On the other, it is an attempt to politically link the energy issue with a new opening in Hungary’s relations with both the European Union and Ukraine. Magyar has already signaled that the resumption of supplies through Druzhba should pave the way for lifting Hungary’s blockade of EU financing for Kyiv.
Hungary’s new leader is therefore trying to build an image of a politician who is more predictable and more pro-European than Viktor Orbán, but this does not mean an automatic departure from hard-headed realism in relations with Ukraine. Magyar is making it clear that Budapest is ready for more constructive cooperation, provided that Hungary receives guarantees concerning its own energy security. This approach may become one of the first tests of the new political landscape in Central Europe after the elections in Hungary.
