Hungary Says Russian Oil Supplies Halted After Ukraine Targets Druzhba Pipeline

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Tuesday that Russian oil supplies were temporarily suspended via the Druzhba oil pipeline, a key supply route for much of central Europe, following large-scale Ukrainian drone strikes overnight.

His comments came as the Ukrainian military said it targeted the Druzhba pipeline in western Russia’s Oryol region.

“Explosions were recorded in the area of the ‘Steel Horse’ linear production control station, which provides control over the technological processes of the Druzhba pipeline,” the Ukrainian military’s General Staff wrote on social media.

Steel Horse was attacked twice in December.

Szijjarto said he was informed by his Russian counterparts that supplies would be resumed later on Tuesday, barring extraordinary circumstances.

“We consider the attacks against an energy structure directed toward Hungary unacceptable,” the minister said in a Facebook video, according to a translation from Hungarian into English.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had downed eight Ukrainian drones over the Oryol region, where the Steel Horse pipeline is located.

The overnight drone attacks, which also targeted Moscow and the surrounding region, were the largest since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At least three people in the Moscow region were killed in air strikes.

Across Russia, more than 300 drones were downed, the military said.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union banned most oil imports from Russia, but the Druzhba pipeline was exempted because countries like Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic rely on it for energy supplies.