Hungary's Magyar blocks Ukrainian oil storage on Hungarian territory, one day after Naftogaz–MOL deal
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar told parliament on 21 September that his government will not allow the construction of petroleum product storage facilities for Ukraine on Hungarian territory. The announcement came a day after Ukraine's Naftogaz group signed a memorandum with Hungarian oil company MOL on building the storage near the Ukrainian-Hungarian border. Magyar framed the decision as a matter of national security and called MOL's negotiations with Naftogaz unacceptable.
Key points
- Hungarian PM Péter Magyar told parliament on 21 September that his government will not allow construction of petroleum product storage facilities for Ukraine on Hungarian territory.
- On 20 September, Ukraine's Naftogaz signed a memorandum with Hungary's MOL on building oil storage near the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, signed during the Carpathian Eight (C8) summit.
- Magyar said negotiations between MOL and Naftogaz began under Viktor Orbán's government and that MOL acted without the current government's consent.
- MOL said the talks are at a preliminary, research stage that could last years and that government involvement was not yet required.
- Magyar said Hungary had declined an invitation to join Ukraine's Carpathian Eight format for unspecified 'respectable reasons.'
- KDNP faction leader Bence Retvári argued that relocating Ukrainian oil storage to Hungary would transfer the risk of Russian strikes across the border and threaten Hungary's national security.
- Naftogaz said the facility is needed to create fuel storage capacity outside the zone of Russian shelling.
Why it matters
The dispute blocks a concrete piece of Ukrainian energy infrastructure aimed at diversifying fuel supply away from Russian strikes on storage facilities inside Ukraine. It also marks an early test of relations between Kyiv and the new Hungarian government led by Péter Magyar, suggesting that Hungary's posture toward Ukraine remains skeptical despite the change of administration in Budapest.
What happened
On 20 September, Ukraine's Naftogaz group announced it had signed a memorandum with Hungarian oil company MOL on building petroleum product storage capacity for Ukraine near the Ukrainian-Hungarian border. The signing took place during the Carpathian Economic Forum within the Carpathian Eight (C8) summit. Naftogaz acting board chairman Serhiy Fedorenko said the facility would help diversify fuel supply routes and create additional storage capacity outside the zone of Russian shelling. The next day, 21 September, Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar told parliament that his government would not permit the construction of such facilities and said that as long as the Tisza party is in power in Hungary, no Ukrainian oil storage facility would be built in the country. Magyar said MOL had begun talks with Naftogaz under the previous Orbán government and called MOL's current actions unacceptable, noting that the Hungarian state owns a 25% stake in the company. MOL said the process is at an initial preparatory stage that could take years, during which technical, financial and regulatory conditions will be examined, and that government involvement was not yet required at this stage. KDNP faction leader Bence Retvári raised the issue in parliament, asking why Hungarians learned about the plans from the Ukrainian press and arguing that relocating the storage would transfer the risk of Russian bombing to Hungary. Magyar also confirmed that Hungary had declined an invitation to join Ukraine's new Carpathian Eight format for what he called 'respectable reasons.' Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha responded that Kyiv was surprised by Magyar's 'baselessly confrontational' statements and stressed that Ukraine remains open to bilateral cooperation with Hungary.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian sources lead with the Naftogaz–MOL memorandum and frame it as a legitimate commercial and energy-security step to create storage outside the reach of Russian shelling. Ukrainian coverage highlights Kyiv's surprise at Magyar's statements, calls them confrontational and reminiscent of Orbán-era blocking and isolationism, and stresses that the reasons for Hungary's refusal of the Carpathian Eight initiative remain unclear. Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, said Ukraine remains open to developing bilateral cooperation with Hungary despite the Hungarian government's position.
How international sources describe it
The available non-Ukrainian-language coverage, a wire-style English report from an Azerbaijani agency, mirrors the summary of Magyar's statement and the Naftogaz–MOL announcement without adding independent editorial framing. Magyar's own remarks, relayed through Hungarian parliamentary reporting and the Hungarian publication Nepszava, frame the issue primarily as a matter of Hungarian sovereignty and national security, particularly for the country's eastern regions.
Where reporting differs
Hungarian framing, centered on Magyar's parliamentary remarks and KDNP leader Bence Retvári's questions, emphasizes that relocating the storage to Hungary would transfer the risk of Russian strikes across the border and endanger Hungarian national security. Ukrainian sources frame the facility as a normal commercial diversification measure that would help Ukraine cope with Russian shelling of its own territory. The two sides also disagree on the character of MOL's talks: Magyar calls them unacceptable negotiations conducted without the government's consent, while MOL describes the work as preliminary, research-stage studies that did not yet require government involvement. Ukrainian officials described Magyar's stance as baselessly confrontational and a continuation of Orbán-era blocking and isolationism, while Magyar presented his position as defending Hungarian sovereignty and national security.
Background
The Naftogaz–MOL memorandum was signed on 20 September during the Carpathian Economic Forum within the Carpathian Eight (C8) summit. According to Magyar, MOL began discussions with Naftogaz during the government of Viktor Orbán. Hungary holds a 25% stake in MOL. President Volodymyr Zelensky presented the Carpathian Eight format on 18 September as a platform for cooperation among Carpathian states, including Hungary, in security, energy, logistics, cross-border economic cooperation and community support. MOL stated that the negotiations were preliminary and at an early study stage that could last years, and that the Hungarian government had not yet been informed because of the lengthy preparatory nature of the talks.