EU Summit Deadlocked: Hungary and Slovakia Hold Ukraine Aid Hostage Over Druzhba Pipeline

Brussels | March 20, 2026
The European Union’s emergency summit in Brussels has hit a major impasse as Hungary and Slovakia continue to block a landmark €90 billion loan package for Ukraine, demanding the restoration of Russian oil supplies through the damaged Druzhba pipeline as a precondition.
The crisis stems from a Russian drone strike on January 27, 2026, which severely damaged pipeline infrastructure near the Brody oil hub in western Ukraine, halting crude oil flows to both landlocked nations.  (Wikipedia)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of deliberately holding up oil supplies — claims that Zelenskyy firmly denies. “If there’s no oil, there’s no money,” Orbán declared. 
At the conclusion of the Brussels summit, Hungary and Slovakia blocked both the €90 billion loan for Ukraine and the EU’s 20th package of anti-Russian sanctions, with both countries demanding the reopening of the Druzhba pipeline as a condition to lift their veto.  (Pravda Slovakia)
In a bid to break the deadlock, the European Union announced it would send financial aid and a team of experts to Ukraine to assess and repair the pipeline, hoping the gesture would lift Hungarian and Slovak obstacles to EU funds for Kyiv. 
Ukraine has since accepted the EU’s offer of funding and technical support, and President Zelenskyy has promised to restore oil flows via the pipeline in approximately six weeks. 
Meanwhile, with the energy war escalating alongside the wider Middle East conflict, Brent crude closed above $107 per barrel, with analysts warning prices could climb even higher given risks to regional infrastructure.