High prices and power shortages could hit Hungarians within "weeks" after Kiev imposed a partial ban on Russian oil passing through the country.
Hungary is racing against time to avoid power outages and fuel shortages after Ukraine imposed a partial ban on Russian oil passing through its territory.
Last month, Kiev imposed sanctions blocking the transit of crude oil sold by Moscow's largest private oil company Lukoil to Central Europe through pipelines, partially reversing an exemption from sanctions introduced by the European Union to give countries dependent on Russia additional time to give up supplies.
Ukraine's goal is to choke off a key source of revenue for the Kremlin's war coffers more than two years after a full-scale invasion of the country.
But the move has raised fears of supply shortages in Budapest, which relies on Russia for 70% of its oil imports and Lukoil for half of that amount.
"Ukrainian measures could lead to a difficult situation," said Ilona Gizinska, a researcher and expert on Hungary at the Center for Eastern Studies think tank. She added that Hungarians could face high energy prices and power shortages in just "weeks" if no solution is found.
According to the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research think tank, in April of this year alone, Hungary spent almost a quarter of a billion euros on Russian crude oil and gas.
On Friday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Ukraine's measure could threaten Hungary's long-term energy security, blaming Kiev for the move.
"Ukrainian authorities have shown a willingness to find a solution to the situation, but these attempts have since faded," he said.
In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier this week, Szijjártó said the country had begun talks with Moscow to find alternative supplies of Russian oil.
"Currently, there is a new legal situation in Ukraine, based on which Lukoil does not supply to Hungary," he said on Tuesday. "We are currently working on a legal solution ... because Russian oil is important from the point of view of our energy security."
On July 19, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of making a "political decision" and said the situation was "critical" for those still buying Russian oil.
Lukoil's ban comes at a time when relations between Kyiv and Budapest are becoming increasingly strained. This week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin as part of a self-proclaimed "peace mission" this month. Budapest is also stubbornly holding back EU arms supplies to Kiev. I BGNES
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