Szijjártó: Hungary could halt electricity exports to Ukraine, but "we are better than that"

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated that Budapest could create catastrophic problems for Ukraine by cutting off electricity supplies, but will not do so "for the sake of Ukrainian children." He made the remark on Tuesday during the program Harcosok órája ("Hour of Warriors").

According to Szijjártó, Ukraine imports between 30% and 40% of its electricity from Hungary each month. Halting these supplies, he warned, "could create such difficulties for Ukraine that one problem would trigger another."

"It is better for Ukrainians to keep this in mind when they are deciding, at various negotiating tables, whether to bomb the Druzhba pipeline or not. Let it stay in their thoughts," he said.

At the same time, Szijjártó stressed that Hungary "does not wish harm on Ukrainian people and families," and therefore will not take such measures for now.

"We don’t want a Ukrainian apartment, where small children live, to be left without heating or electricity. Why am I saying this? Because we are better than that," he added.

• The Druzhba pipeline delivers Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary. Revenues from Russia’s oil exports are used to finance its war against Ukraine. Over the past month, Ukrainian forces have disrupted oil supplies through Druzhba three times by shelling pumping stations on Russian territory. These attacks sparked a sharp backlash from Hungarian officials, with one even comparing the strikes on the Russian oil pipeline to a military attack on the European Union.