Oil flows again through Druzhba towards Hungary; outgoing PM Orbán revoked his effective veto on the EU's €90bn loan to Ukraine

HUNGARY - In Brief 23 Apr 2026 by Istvan Racz
President Zelenskyy personally announced the other day that Ukraine had completed fixing the now infamous pumping station on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which had been inactive since January 27, due to a missile or drone hit coming from the Russian army. This announcement was followed by technical tests, and finally, the regular transit of Russian crude oil started to flow towards Hungary (and Slovakia) again yesterday. Simultaneously, member states' ambassadors to the EU met yesterday, on which occasion Hungary revoked its effective veto on the planned €90bn EU loan to Ukraine, by approving the third and final EU regulation, which is required for the loan to go ahead.Beyond its international significance, it is important for Hungary's domestic politics that this hurdle was removed by the outgoing government, rather than leaving it behind, as a seriously negative heritage, for the new Tisza government. Should Tisza have had to settle this issue eventually, Fidesz followers could have used that act to forge some political capital out of it, saying that yes, we said so, Magyar is indeed a Ukrainian agent. Curiously, such allegations quickly disappeared from the Hungarian government propaganda after the election.

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