Orbán’s Decisions Aren't Made in Budapest

Orbán’s Decisions Aren't Made in Budapest

From Visegrad Insight Podcast by Res Publica Foundation

February 24, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Hungary's political decisions regarding Ukraine and energy dependency, featuring insights from an expert on geostrategy.

Budapest is accusing Kyiv of delaying repairs to the Druzhba pipeline and threatening to restrict electricity and diesel exports to Ukraine while blocking EU measures to support Kyiv. But are these decisions really made by Viktor Orbán in Budapest, or are they shaped elsewhere? In this episode, Wojciech Przybylski speaks with Visegrad Insight fellow Zsuzsanna Szabó, an energy and geostrategy expert based in Oslo, about Hungary’s deep dependency on Russian crude, the political economy of MOL’s margins and the ‘utility bill reduction fund’, and why the Druzhba standoff hits the Hungarian government where it hurts ahead of the April election. They also discuss Hungary’s threats towards Ukraine, Croatia’s potential role via the Adria pipeline and why sanctions veto politics can look less like Hungarian national interest and more like Kremlin interest. Subscribe to Visegrad Insight: https://visegradinsight.eu/membership-account/membership-levels/ Watch on YouTube:https://youtu.be/piAVKv31AI0 Listen on Spotify: Listen on Apple Podcasts:

People in this episode

Host: Wojciech Przybylski

Guest: Zsuzsanna Szabó

Topics covered

  • political economy
  • Hungary
  • Ukraine
  • energy dependency
  • sanctions
  • geostrategy

Keywords

  • Hungary
  • Ukraine
  • energy
  • politics
  • Druzhba pipeline
  • sanctions
  • geostrategy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MOL

Products: Druzhba pipeline, utility bill reduction fund, Adria pipeline

Places: Budapest, Kyiv, Hungary, Ukraine, Croatia, Oslo

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