Kyiv’s refusal to allow Russian oil into Slovakia and Hungary has agitated Eastern Europe — Bloomberg

The dispute over Russian oil has “stirred up” Eastern Europe. By deciding to halt the transit of Lukoil oil through its territory, Kyiv has sent an unequivocal signal to Budapest and Bratislava that they urgently need to abandon supplies from Moscow.

This is reported by Bloomberg.

Hungary and Slovakia, which purchase a third of their crude oil from Lukoil, have accused Zelensky’s government of encroaching on their energy security. They have instructed the European Union to mediate the resolution and threatened to use the dispute resolution mechanism if their demand is not met.

However, Budapest and Bratislava are unlikely to find much sympathy in Brussels. They received temporary exemptions from EU energy sanctions imposed on Moscow to find alternative supply sources. More than two years have passed, but neither country has fully weaned itself off “dependence on Russian energy,” the publication claims.

The Hungarian company Mol is expanding its capacity to process oil from other sources. Nevertheless, Viktor Orbán’s government is doubling down on energy contracts with Russia, which irritates Kyiv and its EU and NATO partners, the article notes.

It is unclear whether Ukraine will relent in the crude oil dispute, as Bulgaria did last year after a short-lived attempt to impose a tax on the transit of Russian gas. At that time, Budapest called the measure a “hostile step” that threatened its economy, Bloomberg recalls.