New Delhi, March 27 -- Hungary will gradually cut off gas supplies to Ukraine until Russian oil deliveries resume through the Druzhba pipeline, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday.

The transit of natural gas through Hungary plays a key role in fulfilling the energy needs of Ukraine, now in its fourth year of war with Russia.

Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia have been halted for nearly two months after what Ukrainian officials say were Russian drone attacks that damaged the pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory, and that continuous strikes risk the lives of technicians trying to repair it.

The populist leaders of Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of deliberately holding up Russian deliveries. Presiden...