Orban Trails in Polls Amid Ukraine Pipeline Row

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's reelection campaign has intensified amid escalating tensions with Ukraine, as polls show him trailing opposition leader Peter Magyar ahead of the April 12 parliamentary vote. Orban, who has led the country for nearly 16 years, is using the dispute over a key Russian oil pipeline and allegations of Ukrainian interference to rally supporters, while blocking a multibillion-euro European Union loan to Kyiv.

The central flashpoint is the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to landlocked Hungary and neighboring Slovakia. Ukraine halted flows in January after a Russian drone attack damaged the line on its territory, according to Ukrainian officials. Orban has accused Kyiv of deliberately interrupting the deliveries for political reasons to influence Hungary's election, a claim Ukraine denies. In response, Orban has vetoed the EU's planned 50 billion euro loan to Ukraine, agreed upon by EU leaders in December, until the pipeline resumes operations. The holdup has frustrated Brussels, where diplomats say it breaches the principle of sincere cooperation among member states.

To address the issue, the European Commission this week requested...