Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after Monday’s EU Foreign Affairs Council that proposals had been raised which would see Hungarian and Slovak soldiers sent to Ukraine.

In a Facebook post following the meeting, Szijjártó wrote, “Two shocking details from today’s Foreign Affairs Council. 1. They want Hungarian and Slovak soldiers to go to Ukraine. 2. The European Commission is really joining forces with Ukraine to block oil shipments.”

The leaders of both countries have long opposed the ongoing funding of the war in Ukraine, and have categorically dismissed the notion of sending troops or ammunition to assist the war effort.

Szijjártó’s remarks come amid heightened tensions between Budapest, Bratislava, Brussels, and Kyiv over the transit of Russian crude oil through the Druzhba, or Friendship, pipeline, which passes through Ukraine and remains a crucial supply route for Hungary and Slovakia.

Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Szijjártó accused the European Commission of “behaving like the Ukraine Commission” by siding with Kyiv over EU member states.

He said Ukraine was putting Hungary’s energy security at risk by failing to restart oil deliveries.

“It is our sovereign right to decide where we buy the energy sources from, and what kind of energy sources we buy. We are not ready to buy more expensive energy than the current, and we are not ready to buy from less reliable sources than the current ones,” he said.

🇭🇺🇪🇺 "The European Commission is behaving like the Ukraine Commission!"

Hungarian Foreign Minister @FM_Szijjarto slams Brussels for siding with Kyiv over Ukraine's refusal to restart oil deliveries.

He insists that it is Hungary's "sovereign right" to purchase energy supplies… pic.twitter.com/cMDGvsZriP

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) February 23, 2026

“I understand that there are some advices and ideas to us about how to do it, but I never give advice or ideas to other countries on how to put together their national energy mix. Ukraine does not have the right to put our energy security at risk, and we want them to restart the oil deliveries to Hungary immediately, because there are neither any technical nor physical reasons why they do not restart the deliveries to Hungary.

“Here in Brussels, they usually stand on the side of non-EU states, rather than the EU states. This is unbelievable,” he added.

The dispute comes amid the backdrop of Hungary’s governing Fidesz facing a closely fought general election campaign in which relations with Ukraine have become a central issue. Fidesz argues that Ukraine cannot join the European Union while it is at war and warns that accession would “bring war to Europe.”

The opposition Tisza Party, led by Péter Magyar, has been portrayed by Fidesz as more receptive to Brussels’ approach toward Kyiv. Magyar maintains that Ukrainian EU membership is not currently on the table.

Also on Monday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced that Slovakia would halt electricity supplies to Ukraine in response to the continued suspension of oil deliveries.

STATEMENT OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC 🇸🇰

I have fulfilled what I declared on Saturday: “If oil supplies to Slovakia are not restored by Monday, I will ask SEPS, the state-owned joint-stock company, to halt emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. In January… pic.twitter.com/EyjfEgmple

— Robert Fico 🇸🇰 (@RobertFicoSVK) February 23, 2026

Fico said Kyiv had been given 48 hours to restart the oil flow but had failed to do so. He added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had offered to speak with him later, but not within the requested timeframe.

“Given the gravity of the situation and the declared state of emergency in Slovakia, we are compelled under these measures to adopt the first reciprocal measure immediately,” Fico said in a video message posted on social media.

“It will be cancelled as soon as the transit of oil to Slovakia has resumed,” he added. “Otherwise, we will proceed with further measures.”