Hungary is buying Russian oil despite alternative supplies being available, according to a report that accuses Budapest of failing to pass down to consumers the savings it makes from buying cheap Russian fuels.
Instead, the savings become profits for Hungary’s largest oil company, which is part-owned by foundations linked to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, according to the report from the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD), a European-based public policy institute, which shared an advance copy of its analysis with CNN.
The CSD analysis found that domestic fuel prices in Hungary were on average 18% higher than in the neighboring Czech Republic in 2025, even though Budapest still buys cheaper Russian oil, while Prague buys costlier non-Russian alternatives.
The research undercuts Orbán’s claims that continuing to buy Russian oil, despite European Union-wide efforts to phase out Russian fossil fuels, makes fuel cheaper for Hungarians. Instead, the report found, the savings are accruing mostly to MOL, Hungary’s oil giant, which has seen its operating income 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 energy and climate program, told CNN. “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.”
CNN has asked the Hungarian government and MOL for comment.
After Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago, EU members moved to end their dependence on Russian oil and gas. The EU gave Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic – three Central European countries especially dependent on Russia for their energy – an exemption in 2022 and were told to reduce their reliance as soon as possible.
The Czech Republic has since stopped buying Russian oil, but Hungary and Slovakia used the EU’s exemption to deepen their dependence. Last year, Russia accounted for over 92% of Hungary’s crude oil imports, up from 61% pre-invasion, the report said. When the United States announced sanctions on two Russian oil giants in October, Orbán traveled to the White House to ask for one-year exemption.
Although US President Donald Trump granted his ally’s request, saying it had been “difficult” for Hungary to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels, since it is landlocked.
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