Hungary and Slovakia's continued reliance on Russian energy imports, particularly crude oil and gas, has undermined EU sanctions and strengthened Russia's economic and military power. Despite EU exemptions allowing these countries to maintain Russian oil imports, which have generated EUR 5.4 billion in tax revenues for the Kremlin, there has been little effort to decouple from Russian energy sources. Hungary, for example, increased its intake of Russian crude by nearly 50% since 2021. Additionally, the expansion of the TurkStream pipeline has turned Hungary into a strategic Kremlin-backed gas hub.