Lukoil oil transit dispute

However, Hungary and Slovakia were granted special exemptions from the EU ban on pipeline-transferred Russian oil, which intended to allow landlocked countries such as the Czech Republic time to seek alternative energy sources.

[6] Orbán's government is notable for regularly blocking and delayed the EU's efforts to grant financial and military aid to Ukraine and to imposing sanctions on Russia.

[9] Similarly, Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico campaigned in the 2023 Slovak parliamentary election on an Eurosceptic platform, halting military aid to Ukraine and pushing for friendly relations with Russia, while criticizing NATO and the United States.

[13] On 23 July, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó declared that Hungary, until Kyiv reversed its sanctions, would block the disbursement of €6.5 billion into the European Peace Facility (EPF), a fund designed to reimburse EU nation states for military aid provided to Ukraine.

[15] Following a meeting with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 22 December, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that Slovakia was considering implementing reciprocal measures against Ukraine, including the suspension of emergency electricity supplies.

[16] In response to these complaints, European Commission officials publicly assured that they would review the matter and facilitate a resolution, while also stating that there was no immediate threat to the EU's general oil supply security.

[12] Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy retorted that the ban on Lukoil oil transit was in accordance with its sanctions against the Russian company, and not related to blackmail against Hungary or Slovakia for blocking military aid to Ukraine prior to the dispute.

[14] On 30 July, the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed willingness to join talks with the European Commission in order to maintain cooperation with Hungary and Slovakia.

[18] On 31 July, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal reiterated that their sanctions would not affect Slovakia or Europe in general, and thus stated that removing them was "not a matter for discussion".

[5] On 29 July, Szijjártó engaged in a phone call with the Russian and Slovak foreign ministers discussing the oil transit ban, further stating publicly that Ukraine was endangering Hungary's energy security, and thus was violating the European Union's association agreement.