Pipeline attack stops Russian oil flow to Hungary, Slovakia
Russian crude oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline were halted on Aug. 18, according to officials in both countries. Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto attributed the suspension to a Ukrainian attack on a portion of the network.
Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, who heads Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, confirmed that drones of the 14th Regiment of the Unmanned Systems Unit attacked the Nikolskoye oil pumping station in Tambov region, which halted the operation of the Russian Druzhba oil pipeline.
The oil supply disruption coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump's meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Washington, D.C. following which Trump announced that he "began the arrangements for a meeting, at a location to be determined, between President Putin and President Zelensky."
Ukraine has been increasing its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, a key source of revenue for the Kremlin’s war effort.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha neither confirmed nor denied the account of the latest attack but wrote on X that Hungary "can now send complaints and threats" to Moscow, not Kyiv.
Szijjarto called the strike "outrageous and unacceptable" and said he was told by Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin that experts were working to restore the transformer station that was reportedly hit.
Unlike most other European Union nations, Hungary has maintained its reliance on Russian energy since Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Hungary imports most of its crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Belarus and Ukraine. The Soviet-built pipeline also saw a brief suspension of flows in March following a Ukrainian attack on a different metering station. Last year, Russia supplied about 95,000 barrels of oil per day to Hungary through this route, according to Reuters.
Sybiha added that "...it is Russia, not Ukraine, who began this war and refuses to end it. Hungary has been told for years that Moscow is an unreliable partner. Despite this, Hungary has made every effort to maintain its reliance on Russia."
Slovak pipeline operator Transpetrol reportedly confirmed that oil supplies to Slovakia had stopped but said it was unaware of the reason for the suspension, which occurred outside of its territory. Hungarian oil company MOL confirmed that a technical restoration was in progress and that the overall supply of oil to the region remained guaranteed, according to Reuters.
