Hungary is buying Russian oil regardless of different provides being obtainable, in accordance to a report that accuses Budapest of failing to go down to customers the financial savings it makes from buying low-cost Russian fuels.
Instead, the financial savings develop into earnings for Hungary’s largest oil firm, which is part-owned by foundations linked to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, in accordance to the report from the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), a European-based public coverage institute, which shared an advance copy of its evaluation with NCS.
The CSD evaluation discovered that home gas costs in Hungary had been on common 18% greater than in the neighboring Czech Republic in 2025, despite the fact that Budapest nonetheless buys cheaper Russian oil, whereas Prague buys costlier non-Russian options.
The analysis undercuts Orbán’s claims that persevering with to purchase Russian oil, regardless of European Union-wide efforts to section out Russian fossil fuels, makes gas cheaper for Hungarians. Instead, the report discovered, the financial savings are accruing largely to MOL, Hungary’s oil large, which has seen its working revenue soar 30% since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“The dependence on discounted Russian oil has not trickled down to consumers,” Martin Vladimirov, director of CSD’s power and local weather program, informed NCS. “Instead the profit from reselling cheap oil goes in the pocket of the monopoly supplier MOL in the form of excess profit, which indirectly funds Orbán’s state capture networks.”
NCS has requested the Hungarian authorities and MOL for remark.
After Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine almost 4 years in the past, EU members moved to finish their dependence on Russian oil and fuel. The EU gave Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – three Central European international locations particularly depending on Russia for his or her power – an exemption in 2022 and had been informed to scale back their reliance as quickly as attainable.
The Czech Republic has since stopped buying Russian oil, however Hungary and Slovakia used the EU’s exemption to deepen their dependence. Last 12 months, Russia accounted for over 92% of Hungary’s crude oil imports, up from 61% pre-invasion, the report stated. When the United States introduced sanctions on two Russian oil giants in October, Orbán traveled to the White House to ask for one-year exemption.
US President Donald Trump granted his ally’s request, saying it had been “difficult” for Hungary to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels, because it is landlocked.
But the CSD researchers stated Hungary’s continued purchases of Russian oil are a political alternative, not a industrial or logistical necessity.
“Despite full access to alternative supply routes… Hungary has deepened its dependence on Russian oil, turning a temporary EU exemption into a permanent loophole in the sanctions regime,” the report stated.
Hungary receives Russian crude oil by way of the Druzhba pipeline, which runs by way of Ukraine, nevertheless it is additionally linked to the Adria pipeline, which runs by way of Croatia and pumps non-Russian crude oil from the Adriatic coast.
The CSD researchers stated the Adria pipeline “has sufficient capacity” to meet Hungarian and Slovak demand, and that its transit charges are 1.7 instances decrease than these for the Druzhba pipeline, which runs by way of an energetic war zone.
Russian crude oil is, nevertheless, considerably cheaper than non-Russian options. The report discovered that, between January 2024 and August 2025, Russian crude oil was on common roughly 20% cheaper than non-Russian options.
But that low cost has not translated into decrease costs for Hungarian customers, in accordance to the report.
Last 12 months, common weekly pre-tax gas costs had been 18% greater in Hungary than in the Czech Republic and 10% greater for diesel, the CSD stated. Even although MOL purchased Russian crude at a steep low cost, the researchers stated the firm has nonetheless offered its merchandise at costs comparable to different regional markets, inflicting its earnings to soar.
“The company’s operating income rose 30% above pre-invasion levels, while three foundations linked to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán control 30.49% of MOL, enabling surplus profits to flow into some of Hungary’s most influential state-capture networks,” it stated. Those foundations embrace the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, Hungary’s largest instructional establishment, which has shut ties to Orbán’s authorities.
The CSD report comes as Hungary gears up for parliamentary elections in April, during which Orbán will face Péter Magyar, his first credible opponent in years. Orbán has campaigned closely on how his authorities has saved power prices down, which the report calls into query.
The report additionally undermines Orbán’s claims that Hungary has no possibility however to buy Russian oil. It discovered that Hungary’s refineries are technically able to processing non-Russian crude and have finished so in the previous with out disruptions. The CSD additionally pointed to how Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, which have stopped buying Russian oil since the invasion of Ukraine, “experienced no supply shocks and maintained some of the lowest fuel prices in the EU.”
The researchers beneficial that the EU go laws proposed by the European Commission to ban Hungary and Slovakia’s imports of Russian crude oil as quickly as attainable.
“The final stage of Europe’s energy decoupling from Russia is within reach. What remains is the political will to close the loopholes that continue to finance the Kremlin’s war machine,” the researchers stated.