Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused European allies of blackmail for pressuring Kiev to repair the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil, in a dispute involving Hungary.
“They are forcing me to reestablish Druzhba,” Zelensky declared to a group of journalists on Saturday, with an embargo until this Sunday.
Zelensky said that The repair of the oil pipeline is being conditioned on a loan of 90 billion dollars (78 billion euros, at current exchange rates), blocked by Hungary, intended to purchase weapons for Ukraine.
“I told our friends in Europe that this is called blackmail,” said the Ukrainian leader before a group of journalists, including from the French news agency AFP.
Ukraine declared itself, however, willing to work with any Hungarian leader who “is not an ally” of Vladimir Putin, just weeks before legislative elections in Hungary that could dictate a change of government.
“We will work with any leader in Hungary (…), as long as that person is not an ally of Putin”, stated the Ukrainian President.
Zelensky accused the current ultranationalist government of Viktor Orbán of “spreading anti-Ukrainian sentiment” and of using Russian communications advisers in the election campaign.
He also stated that Ukraine does not want to lose American support due to the crisis in the Middle East, where the United States and Israel have been waging a war against Iran since February 28.
“We demonstrated our willingness to help the United States and its allies in the Middle East” by offering Ukrainian expertise in drones, mentioned.
“We very much hope that, due to the Middle East, the United States will not move away from the issue of the war in Ukraine,” said Zelensky, whose country has faced an invasion from Russia since February 2022.
To combat Russian troops, Ukraine has relied on financial and arms support from Western allies, especially the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The relationship with President Donald Trump’s administration, in power since February 2025, has seen ups and downs, mainly due to the American leader’s proximity to Putin.
Kiev’s allies have imposed economic sanctions on Moscow, but Trump last week temporarily authorized the sale of Russian oil already loaded on tankers, which led to harsh Ukrainian and European criticism.
Zelensky also announced that Ukraine will receive a new SAMP/T defense system from France this year, which will be tested against Russian ballistic missiles as an alternative to the North American “Patriot” system.
This is the “most important topic” of the discussions held with Emmanuel Macron, last Friday, in Paris, he added.
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