Overview
- Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó met Vladimir Putin in Moscow to secure continued oil and gas deliveries at unchanged prices following recent market spikes and halted pipeline flows.
- Putin voiced support for Hungary’s concerns and said two ethnic Hungarian prisoners of war would be released to return with Szijjártó.
- Hungary and Slovakia accuse Ukraine of politically blocking Druzhba transit, while Kyiv says a late‑January Russian strike caused serious damage that requires repairs and cannot be assessed by satellite images alone.
- Hungary kept vetoes on a €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine and parts of new sanctions in place as it and Slovakia pressed their case at the EU Oil Coordination Group, with calls persisting for an independent on‑site inspection.
- Budapest formed a commission to assess Druzhba and deployed forces to protect energy facilities, Slovakia ended emergency power exports to Ukraine, and oil flows via the pipeline remain halted since Jan. 27 without independent verification on the ground.