Zelenskyy offers Slovakia and Hungary help finding alternatives to Russian energy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today offered to help Slovakia and Hungary find alternatives to Russian oil and gas, on which both countries remain dependent. In October, the Slovak and Ukrainian governments will meet in Bratislava for a joint session and discuss this issue among others, he said, local media reported.

"Government officials will meet in Slovakia, where Ukraine will be able to offer—and will offer—alternative steps regarding energy supplies. But only if they do not involve Russian oil and Russian gas," the Ukrainian president said in a speech broadcast by the Ukrinform news agency.

He also wants to discuss the issue with Hungary, which, he said, has so far taken no steps in this direction. "Apart from some signals in the media, which certainly do not support Ukraine, I have heard nothing else," Zelenskyy said.

Russia uses the Druzhba pipeline, among other routes, to supply energy to Hungary and Slovakia. Ukraine repeatedly attacked the pipeline in August. The other EU member states have gradually ended their energy dependence on Russia. The trigger was the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces in February 2022.

EU representatives, its member states and other leaders have repeatedly called on Slovakia and Hungary to stop importing energy from Russia. In his speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump also called for a similar move. He later spoke directly by phone with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán about Russian energy. Slovakia and Hungary have long objected to the EU’s approach to ending energy imports from Russia.