Trump 'very angry' about Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil pipeline
U.S. President Donald Trump told Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban he was "very angry" about recent Ukrainian drone strikes on Russia's Druzhba oil pipeline in a note to Orban published Aug. 22.
Trump's remarks came in response to a letter of complaint sent by Orban, who called the attacks on the pipeline a "very unfriendly move." The Druzhba pipeline carries Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, the only two countries in the EU still buying Russian crude through this system.
Ukraine's Unmanned System Forces confirmed on Aug. 18 that it struck the Nikolskoye oil pumping station in Russia's Tambov Oblast in a drone attack, disrupting operations. Russian oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia were suspended that day as a result of the strike.
Both Hungary and Slovakia expressed outrage over the attack and appealed to international partners, with Orban writing to Trump and Slovakia's Foreign Ministry sending a complaint to the European Commission.
"Hungary supports Ukraine with electricity and petrol, in return they bomb pipeline that supply us," Orban's note to Trump reads. "Very unfriendly move!"
In a response handwritten directly on the letter, Trump writes: "Viktor, I do not like hearing about this — I am very angry about it. Tell Slovakia you are my great friend."
Slovakia's letter to the European Commission calls Ukraine's attack on the pipeline "completely unacceptable" and calls on the EC to take action to guarantee the safety of its energy supply.
Ukraine regularly carries out attacks on military and industrial facilities in Russia, targeting Russian oil infrastructure to undermine one of Moscow's most lucrative revenue streams.
According to Oleksandr Kharchenko, managing director of the Energy Industry Research Center, oil revenues account for up to 40% of Russia's federal budget. Ukraine's drone strikes on oil facilities "directly weaken Moscow's war chest," he told the Kyiv Independent.
The Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, one of the world's largest, carries Russian crude through two main branches: the northern line toward northern Europe and the southern line to Central Europe.
The recent attacks on the pipeline hit the Unecha pumping station, "a critical hub" that not only supplies oil to Hungary and Slovakia but also feeds the line to the Ust-Luga port in the Baltic Sea near St. Petersburg, Kharchenko said.
"That makes it a dual blow — both to Russia's pipeline exports into the EU and to its seaborne shipments. Disruption at Unecha cuts into about 5% of Russia’s daily oil exports, costing the Kremlin nearly $15 million in lost revenue every day," he told the Kyiv Independent.
"For Hungary and others, the immediate risk is supply instability, while for Russia's wider customer base the signal is clear: the Druzhba and Ust-Luga routes are no longer reliable."
Orban's appeal to Trump comes amid the White House's latest push to make a peace deal ending the war in Ukraine. Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15, then invited President Volodymyr Zelensky and a number of European leaders to Washington on Aug. 18.
Orban, a long-time Trump ally, is one of the most Kremlin-friendly leaders in Europe. He has repeatedly blocked sanctions and aid to Ukraine and opposes Kyiv's accession to the EU.
