Hungary and Slovakia Grapple with Disrupted Russian Oil Supplies Following Latest Ukrainian Pipeline Assault

Russian crude oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia were halted on Monday, following what Budapest described as the second Ukrainian assault on Russia’s Druzhba pipeline in a fortnight.

«Ukraine has once again launched an attack on the oil pipeline that supplies Hungary, cutting off our resources. This latest assault on our energy security is outrageous and unacceptable,» wrote Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on X.

He mentioned that Russian officials informed him that technicians were working to restore a crucial transformation station for the Druzhba pipeline’s functioning. Szijjarto referenced Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin, who indicated that it remains uncertain when deliveries would resume.

“For 3.5 years, Brussels and Kyiv have attempted to pull Hungary into the conflict in Ukraine. These repeated Ukrainian strikes on our energy infrastructure aim to achieve the same goal,” the foreign minister stated. “This is not our conflict. We are not involved, and as long as we are in leadership, Hungary will remain neutral.”

Meanwhile, the Slovakian pipeline operator Transpetrol announced later on Monday that oil deliveries to Slovakia had also been suspended, noting that it had no additional information regarding the cause of the halt.

Last Thursday, Szijjarto had claimed that Ukrainian drones targeted an oil pumping facility along the Druzhba pipeline, disrupting the flow of oil. Sorokin had then hinted that supplies could potentially resume by Friday.

Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the European Union prohibited most imports of Russian oil, although the Druzhba pipeline, which currently services Hungary and Slovakia, was exempted. The Czech Republic previously depended on this Russian pipeline but ceased its imports earlier this year after connecting to an alternate pipeline in Italy.