Croatia has refused to transport Russian oil through its port and the Adria pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia, saying it is time to stop what it called “war profiteering.”
Hungary and Slovakia on Sunday asked Croatia to help secure Russian crude by sea via the Adriatic and through the Adria pipeline after supplies through Ukraine were disrupted by damage to the Druzhba pipeline.
On Feb. 16, Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar responded in a post on X, saying: “A barrel bought from Russia may appear cheaper to some countries, but helps fund war and attacks on Ukrainian people.”
“It’s time to stop that war profiteering,” he added.
Šušnjar also said Hungary’s foreign minister had repeatedly accused Croatia of “war profiteering” and of being an “unreliable transit country,” despite Croatia keeping its tariffs “transparent and market‑based” and ensuring its infrastructure remained “stable and uninterrupted.”
However, he added that “Croatia will not allow Central Europe’s fuel supply to be endangered” and would help Hungary and Slovakia “solve the acute disruption, within EU law and OFAC regulations.”
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Dispute over pipeline shutdown
After Moscow struck Ukrainian infrastructure on Jan. 27, oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia was halted.
On Feb. 12, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha posted a photo of burning pipeline infrastructure and said Hungary “is preparing to complain again about problems with Russian oil transit.” He added that Budapest should instead “approach their ‘friends’ in Moscow” and protest to Russia.
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On Sunday, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungary’s foreign minister accused Ukraine of delaying the restart of the pipeline for “political reasons.”
Fico said Ukraine was to blame for not restarting the line even though it “should have been fixed,” calling the situation “political blackmail” linked to Hungary’s stance on Ukraine’s EU membership.
For now, the Druzhba pipeline remains vital to Hungary and Slovakia, which still rely heavily on Russian crude. Both countries continue to depend on such supplies and have exemptions from EU sanctions on pipeline oil.
