Slovakia and Hungary said they stopped receiving oil from Russia’s Lukoil after Ukraine tightened sanctions against it.
Ukraine has a new conflict with Hungary and Slovakia. This time because of Russian oil. Last week, Slovakia and Hungary said they stopped receiving oil from Russia’s Lukoil after Ukraine tightened sanctions against it.
Both Slovakia and Hungary said they continued to receive oil from other Russian suppliers, but not from Lukoil.
New penalties
Lukoil has been under sanctions in Ukraine since 2018, but they are limited – they concern only the removal of capital, restrictions on trading operations and a ban on participation in the privatization or leasing of the property of state. In June 2024, the National Security and Defense Council expanded them, in particular, adding a travel ban.
The Slovak Ministry of Economy said the move would affect the Bratislava oil refinery Slovnaft. Prolonged supply shortages could negatively affect the operation of the Bratislava refinery. Despite a gradual shift to alternative suppliers, two-thirds of the oil it processes is still from Russian.
Angry neighbors
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called his Ukrainian counterpart Denis Shmygal with complaints. Fico criticized the inclusion of the Russian company Lukoil in the sanctions list. The Slovak Prime Minister considers such sanctions “pointless” because, in his opinion, they do not harm the Russian Federation, but only some EU member states.
“Slovakia does not intend to be a hostage in Ukrainian-Russian relations, and the decision of the Ukrainian president means that the Slovak oil refinery Slovnaft, part of the Hungarian MOL group, will receive 40% less products of oil than it needs for processing,” said the Slovak prime minister.
According to him, this will have an impact not only on the Slovak market, but may also lead to the cessation of supplies of oil produced in Slovnaft in Ukraine, which, as Fico noted, accounts for almost a tenth of all Ukrainian consumption .
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said the stoppage of Russian oil transit through Ukraine “primarily threatens the security of energy supplies in Hungary and Slovakia.”
“This is an unacceptable step on the part of Ukraine, a country that wants to become a member of the European Union, which in a decision puts the supply of oil in two EU member countries at major risk. Such a decision by Ukraine is a clear violation of the Association Agreement,” he said.
Money is blocked
Hungary again blocked 6.5 billion euros in payments from the European Peace Fund to cover arms supplies to Ukraine. And it will block these funds until the Lukoil oil transfer problem is solved.
“I also made it clear that until Ukraine solves this issue, everyone should forget about the payment of 6.5 billion euros as compensation for the transfer of weapons from the European Peace Fund, because what would it look like if we facilitated the payment of 6.5 billion euros, while Ukraine threatens the security of our energy supply,” said Szijjarto.
He believes that the European Commission “should put pressure on Ukraine” to allow Lukoil to continue oil supplies through Ukrainian territory.
Source: korrespondent
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