Kyiv is almost completely dependent on fuel imports to maintain its war effort...
Ukraine’s tanks are increasingly running on oil that comes from Russia in what German newspaper Handelsblatt describes as a paradox of war.
According to the Ukrainian customs authority, Kyiv is importing more and more diesel from Hungary and Turkey, both countries that process oil from Russia to a large extent in their refineries.
Although the market position of Hungary’s MOL Group and Turkish suppliers in Ukraine was already relatively good in the past, it was only recently that the Ukrainian customs authorities reported a striking increase in imports.
For example, MOL, which is closely linked to the Hungarian state, doubled its sales to Ukraine in the past six months.
Since MOL purchases Russian oil to a large extent, it is now likely to be the main fuel for Ukraine’s war machinery.
At the same time, companies that do not obtain their raw material from Russia are losing market share in Ukraine.
This is because MOL has a competitive advantage over other European oil companies: It has an exemption from the European Union to continue supplying its refineries with Russian crude oil.
