{"id":1313796,"date":"2026-02-23T17:47:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:47:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/?p=1313796"},"modified":"2026-02-23T17:47:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T15:47:47","slug":"hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/","title":{"rendered":"Hungary and Slovakia Cannot Hold the EU Hostage Over Sanctions Blackmail \u2014 Sybiha"},"content":{"rendered":" <p>The governments of Hungary and Slovakia have not condemned Russia\u2019s January 27 attack on Ukraine\u2019s oil infrastructure. Instead, these countries are resorting to blackmail and ultimatums. The two states cannot hold the entire EU hostage, and Hungarian and Slovak ultimatums should be addressed only to the Kremlin. This was emphasized today, February 23, by Ukraine\u2019s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha during his online participation in the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, <a href=\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/\">UATV English <\/a>reports.<\/p>\n   <p>Sybiha recalled that the problems with oil transit through the \u201cDruzhba\u201d pipeline were caused by Russia\u2019s strike on January 27 and highlighted its serious consequences not only for energy transit but for the entire region.<\/p>\n   <p>\u201cThe actions of Budapest and Bratislava currently only play into the hands of the Russian aggressor. We call on the governments of Hungary and the Slovak Republic to engage in constructive cooperation and responsible behavior. Continuing and strengthening pressure on Moscow is critically important,\u201d Sybiha stressed.<\/p>\n   <p>On the eve of the fourth anniversary of Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion, the diplomat noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin had miscalculated regarding Ukraine and Europe.<\/p>\n   <p>\u201cFor four years now, Ukraine has held the line \u2014 defending freedom, justice, and European values. Russia will remain an existential threat to Europe. Putin seeks a new Yalta, a new Munich, and new spheres of influence. You all know this. We all see what is at stake now,\u201d the head of Ukraine\u2019s Foreign Ministry said.<\/p>\n   <p>He also informed his European colleagues about the situation on the front line and Ukraine\u2019s peace initiatives, emphasizing that the Kremlin\u2019s claims about the success of the Russian army are propaganda.<\/p>\n   <p>\u201cPutin\u2019s claim that Russian troops are steadily advancing is merely propaganda. Thanks to the asymmetric actions of our forces, the Russian army is moving toward strategic exhaustion. We must turn the war of attrition that Putin is waging into the exhaustion of his regime and military economy,\u201d the minister stated.<\/p>\n   <p>The Foreign Minister called on the EU to intensify sanctions pressure, including imposing a full entry ban on participants in the Russian aggression and their relatives.<\/p>\n   <p>\u201cThe faster and more comprehensively we act, the harder it will be for Russia to adapt. Every euro and dollar invested in Ukraine\u2019s defense industry is an investment in your security,\u201d Sybiha emphasized.<\/p>\n   <p>He also thanked European partners separately for their support during the winter.<\/p>\n   <p>\u201cThis winter, Russia tried to freeze and break Ukraine. But the Kremlin lost this battle. Ukraine endured \u2014 above all thanks to you. Thank you for 145 million euros in emergency humanitarian aid and for providing nearly one thousand generators,\u201d the Foreign Minister concluded.<\/p>\n   <p>It is recalled that Hungary issued a strict ultimatum to Kyiv, blocking a \u20ac90 billion loan to Ukraine. Hungarian Foreign Minister P\u00e9ter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 stated that Budapest would not approve financial assistance from the European Union until the operation of the \u201cDruzhba\u201d pipeline is restored. He claims that halting transit violates the Association Agreement with the EU. At the same time, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico issued a similar ultimatum to Kyiv, also citing oil supplies through the \u201cDruzhba\u201d pipeline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The governments of Hungary and Slovakia have not condemned Russia\u2019s January 27 &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":1313797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,36415,36422,55,36572],"tags":[78],"sources":[],"class_list":["post-1313796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-11473-news-en","category-11473-news-en-3","category-ukraine-en","category-11473-ukraine-en-news-en-5","tag-homepage-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Hungary and Slovakia Cannot Hold the EU Hostage Over Sanctions Blackmail \u2014 Sybiha - Freedom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hungary and Slovakia Cannot Hold the EU Hostage Over Sanctions Blackmail \u2014 Sybiha - Freedom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The governments of Hungary and Slovakia have not condemned Russia\u2019s January 27 ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Freedom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-23T15:47:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-23T15:47:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/sybyga_1300x750-820x473.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"820\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"473\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Danylo Shportilo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Danylo Shportilo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Danylo Shportilo\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/f4fe8d6d08deebcdee69f6671576d2d2\"},\"headline\":\"Hungary and Slovakia Cannot Hold the EU Hostage Over Sanctions Blackmail \u2014 Sybiha\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-23T15:47:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-23T15:47:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/\"},\"wordCount\":531,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/sybyga_1300x750.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"\u041d\u0430 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u0443\u044e (\u0441\u043b\u0430\u0439\u0434\u0435\u0440)\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"Politics\",\"Society\",\"Ukraine\",\"Ukraine and the EU\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/uatv.ua\/en\/hungary-and-slovakia-cannot-hold-the-eu-hostage-over-sanctions-blackmail-sybiha\/\",\"name\":\"Hungary and Slovakia Cannot Hold the EU Hostage Over Sanctions Blackmail \u2014 Sybiha - 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