Hungary and Slovakia threaten to cut aid to Ukraine over halted Russian oil pipeline

Hungary and Slovakia are threatening to withhold European Union aid and cut electricity supplies to Ukraine. The dispute centers on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which normally carries Russian oil through Ukraine to these countries. Ukraine has halted the flow, citing damage from military strikes.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has threatened to veto a 90-billion-euro EU loan package for Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned he will stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. Both leaders accuse Ukraine of deliberately blocking the pipeline and demand it be reopened.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Fico for talks. The EU has called for an emergency meeting and a joint investigation into the pipeline's status. Slovakia says Ukraine has further delayed giving a date for when oil deliveries will resume.