Druzhba apart: there has been no Russian oil in the EU for a month now

Alexey Gromov, Principal Director on Energy studies at the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Forbes on the situation with Ukraine stopping the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline for Hungary and Slovakia.

"I would not call the statements of the leaders of Hungary and Slovakia about the "economic blockade" an exaggeration, because of the pipeline shutdown, these countries are suffering obvious economic losses," Alexey Gromov said.

In 2025, Russian oil supplied by Druzhba accounted for 92% of Hungary's oil imports, Gromov recalls. At the same time, Russian oil is much cheaper than that which goes through the Adriatic pipeline, he adds.

Through Druzhba, Gromov points out, Hungary received about 10 million tons of oil per year, and taking into account Slovakia, where the Hungarian MOL owns the local Slovnaft oil company, about 12 million tons per year were supplied. With the declared capacity of the Adria oil pipeline of 34 million tons per year, Hungary and Slovakia can receive no more than 10 million tons through it, which is lower than their consumption, Gromov notes.

"The European Commission, in fact, in cooperation with Ukraine, is forcing Hungary to actively purchase oil from alternative sources, which is unprofitable for Hungary," Gromov says. — The Hungarians refer to the fact that no one formally prohibits them from buying cheap Russian oil at least until the end of 2027. And they don't want to give it up."