FLASH
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Hungary will stop sending natural gas to Ukraine.
This news was announced by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which cuts off one of the main energy supply routes for the war-torn country and deepens the clash between Kiev and Budapest over the interruption of Russian oil supplies.
"We will gradually stop the supply of natural gas from Hungary to Ukraine and store the remaining gas in the country," Orban said in a video posted on social media.
"As long as Ukraine does not supply us with oil, it will not receive gas from Hungary ," he added.
Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia have been cut off for nearly two months after Ukrainian officials said Russian drone attacks damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukrainian territory.
The leaders of Hungary and Slovakia, which unlike most European Union countries continue to import Russian fossil fuels, have accused Ukraine of deliberately hindering supplies.
For much of the last decade, Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, has managed to influence the European Union's agenda by forcing leaders to override his vetoes at successive high-level meetings.
By threatening to block a €90 billion loan for Ukraine that he approved in December, Orbán has crossed a red line with Brussels. According to five EU diplomats and a minister from a European government, the move could lead to an open clash with the bloc immediately after the Hungarian elections.
So far, the EU has avoided a major confrontation with Budapest, including the removal of voting rights. However, this approach is expected to change after the election, as concerns about not influencing Orbán’s campaign may be replaced by the need to deter other leaders who might follow the same path.
European officials say a clash was inevitable regardless of the outcome of the April 12 election, but it could happen sooner if Orbán is re-elected. According to polls compiled by POLITICO, he currently trails his rival by nine percentage points.
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