Druzhba dispute: how Budapest and Bratislava pressed Kyiv by 1 March 2026
A look back at the oil row that, by 1 March 2026, had Hungary and Slovakia threatening to cut support and electricity supplies to Ukraine.
What was the dispute over the Druzhba pipeline that dominated Ukraine's relations with two EU neighbours by 1 March 2026? It was an energy and diplomatic crisis that had escalated over the preceding week, with Hungary and Slovakia linking their support for Ukraine to the resumption of oil transit.
Slovakia's threat
On 23 February 2026, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico announced that emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine would be suspended unless oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline resumed. The announcement followed a disruption that Slovakia attributed to Ukraine.
Hungary goes further
On 24 February 2026, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán announced that Hungary had ended all support for Ukraine, including through the European Union framework, until Ukraine resumed oil transfers via Druzhba.
Origins of the crisis
The crisis centred on the total halt of Russian crude oil transit through the southern leg of the pipeline, a vital energy artery for Slovakia and Hungary. The cessation followed a Russian drone strike on 27 January 2026 that severely damaged pipeline infrastructure near the Brody oil hub in western Ukraine. The dispute came exactly a year after the 2025 Slovak–Ukraine gas dispute, which was triggered by the expiry of the Russia–Ukraine gas transit contract.
A separate domestic development
Away from the pipeline row, Ukraine's judiciary made news on 25 February 2026. The Supreme Court confirmed the case of Kis and Levchuk, which for the first time in Ukrainian court practice upheld the establishment of the fact of a same-sex couple living together as one family, in a de facto marital relationship.
