Hungary Eyes Croatian Route to Bypass Druzhba Oil Halt

Hungary and Slovakia asked Croatia to authorize Russian crude transit through the Adriatic (Adria) pipeline to refineries in Hungary and Slovakia after the Ukrainian leg of the Druzhba pipeline was halted; the move relies on EU sanctions exemptions for maritime oil deliveries if pipeline flows cease. Ukraine blames Russian strikes for the disruption and calls the stoppage political blackmail, while Hungary’s Orbán government has opposed Ukraine’s EU membership, all amid broader regional diplomacy that includes a US-Hungary nuclear cooperation push.