Ukraine tells Hungary: Suspension of Lukoil transit is not “blackmail”

KIEV – Ukraine’s decision to suspend Russia’s Lukoil oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia is in line with Kyiv’s sanctions against the company and has nothing to do with blackmail, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak told Reuters on July 26, refuting a Hungarian statement.

In June, Kyiv imposed sanctions blocking the transit of Russian crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline, sparking fears of supply shortages in Hungary and Slovakia.

On 22 July, Hungary and Slovakia submitted their complaint to the European Commission, calling on it to apply an association agreement which they claim prevents Ukraine from blocking oil transit.

On July 26, an adviser to the Hungarian Prime Minister accused Ukraine of blackmailing Hungary and Slovakia by stopping their oil supplies.

“The situation with the suspension of the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia has nothing to do with blackmail in the Ukrainian sense,” Podoliak said in a written comment.

“And certainly Hungary and Slovakia are not acting as real peacekeepers and are not insisting on peace and justice, but only on concessions to Russia,” he noted.

Mr Podolyak accused neighbouring countries of “violating the line” of the European Union, which supports Kiev in the war with Russia, and recommended that they call on the Kremlin to stop attacks on Ukrainian energy and transit channels.

Ukraine’s energy sector has been under constant Russian missile and drone attacks for months and has lost half of its generating capacity, causing massive outages across the country REUTERS