MOSCOW, August 14. /TASS/. Hungary reduced its purchases of Russian pipeline gas by 12.5% in value terms in the first half of 2026, remaining the top buyer among EU member states, according to Eurostat data and TASS calculations.

In June, the EU imported €542 million worth of Russian pipeline gas. Currently, the TurkStream pipeline remains the only operational transit route for Russian gas supplies to Europe.

In June, the leading importers were Hungary (€218 million), Bulgaria (€143 million), and Slovakia (€113 million), while Greece purchased €67 million worth of Russian gas.

In total, the European Union paid €2.9 billion for Russian pipeline gas in January-June 2026, down from €3.2 billion a year earlier. The main buyers were Hungary (€1.3 billion, down 12.5%), Bulgaria (€704 million), and Greece (€539 million).

TASS previously reported that Russia increased its gas exports to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline by 5% year-on-year in the first half of the year, reaching 8.74 billion cubic meters.