Is an energy war brewing between Ukraine and EU states? (VIDEO)

February 20, 2026

TL;DR

Hungary and Slovakia are threatening to cut off energy supplies to Ukraine.
The threat comes in response to Ukraine halting the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovak leader Robert Fico called Ukraine's action 'political blackmail.'
Both countries demand the resumption of Russian crude oil transit before restoring diesel supplies to Ukraine.
Ukraine claims Russia damaged the pipeline infrastructure; Russia denies this and accuses Ukraine of blackmail.
Budapest and Bratislava also cite Ukraine's opposition to EU membership and refusal of military aid as reasons for Kiev's actions.
Ukraine relies on Hungary and Slovakia for a significant portion of its electricity and natural gas imports.
Hungary supplied 50% of Ukraine's electricity this month, and Slovakia provided 18%.
Last year, Hungary supplied 45.5% of Ukraine's gas needs, and Slovakia delivered 20.5%.
Ukraine's grid integration into ENTSO-E may legally prevent unilateral halting of electricity flows by Hungary and Slovakia.
Natural gas supply halts to Ukraine, a non-member state, are not explicitly prohibited by EU regulations.
The energy dispute occurs amid existing political friction, including Orban's opposition to Ukraine's EU membership and Fico's refusal of military aid.
Ukraine's energy infrastructure is under pressure from Russian attacks, making stable supply critical.
Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine's power grid, leading to outages.

Continue reading the original article