Hungary and Slovakia have raised the alarm over possible fuel shortages after a Ukrainian strike on Russia’s Druzhba pipeline, saying deliveries could be suspended for several days.
On Friday, officials from both countries warned that the attack on the Unecha oil pumping station, a key hub in western Russia, risked halting supplies for at least five days. The Soviet-era pipeline, which runs through Belarus and Ukraine, is a crucial route for Russian oil to reach Central Europe.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar wrote a joint letter to the European Commission urging Brussels to step in and guarantee secure energy flows. “The physical and geographical reality is that without this pipeline, the safe supply of our countries is simply not possible,” they wrote.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban also made the strike a political issue, releasing a letter he had sent to US President Donald Trump.
In it, Orban said Ukraine had attacked Druzhba just days before Trump’s August 15 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, calling the move a “very unfortunate” escalation.
A copy of the letter posted on Facebook appeared to include Trump’s handwritten response: “Viktor, I do not like hearing this, I am very angry about it.” The White House has not commented.
‘Energy security’
Ukraine’s military confirmed late on Thursday that it had struck the Unecha facility, describing it as a vital node in Russia’s export system.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces, posted a video on Telegram showing a large blaze at an oil depot, though the location could not be independently verified.
The strike was the second this week to disrupt oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia, following another halt earlier on Monday and Tuesday. Russian officials said the Unecha fire had been extinguished, but admitted flows could be disrupted for several days.
The European Union, which reduced its reliance on Russian energy after the 2022 invasion, has pledged to phase out Moscow’s oil and gas entirely by 2027. But Hungary and Slovakia have resisted such moves, keeping close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and blocking some sanctions packages that Kyiv insists are necessary to pressure Moscow.
Germany and Kazakhstan, which also use the Druzhba pipeline, reported their supplies remained unaffected. Berlin said deliveries to the PCK Schwedt refinery, which supplies fuel to the capital, were secure, while Kazakhstan confirmed its oil flows had not been disrupted.
Despite EU investment in Croatian infrastructure meant to provide alternatives, both Hungary and Slovakia say Russian energy remains indispensable. “This is another attack against our energy security,” Szijjarto wrote on Facebook.
