Hungary and Slovakia Send Letter to EU
"Guarantee Secure Oil Supply"
Reuters and dpa reported on August 22 (local time) that Ukrainian forces attacked Russia's Druzhba oil pipeline, resulting in the suspension of crude oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia for at least several days.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's drone unit, announced on Telegram on the night of August 21 that a drone strike was carried out on the Unecha oil pump station in western Bryansk Oblast, Russia. He also posted a video showing the facility, lined with fuel tanks, engulfed in flames, and wrote in Hungarian, "Russians, get out."
The Druzhba oil pipeline, which has been in operation since the Soviet era, connects Belarus and Ukraine, supplying Kazakh oil to Germany and Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. The Unecha pump station is a key facility of the Druzhba pipeline. This is the second Ukrainian airstrike on the Druzhba pipeline this week, following the previous attack on August 18.
Peter Szijjarto, Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs, wrote on Facebook on the morning of August 22 that oil supplies to Hungary are being disrupted and claimed that Hungary's energy security has once again come under attack. Despite continuing high-level peace talks brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia and Ukraine are still engaged in military clashes. In particular, Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russian infrastructure, including oil refineries, tightening Russia's war funding sources.
While the European Union (EU) has imposed sanctions on imports of Russian oil, some landlocked member states such as Hungary have been granted exceptional exemptions for reasons of energy security. Hungary and Slovakia, both EU member states, oppose the EU's plan to gradually reduce imports of Russian oil and natural gas by the end of 2027, citing economic reasons.
On August 22, the governments of Hungary and Slovakia sent a letter to the European Commission, stating that due to recent Ukrainian attacks, they have been unable to import Russian oil for at least five days, and called for guarantees of oil supply.
In particular, although Hungary is a member of both the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it maintains a friendly stance toward Russia. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Hungary has repeatedly blocked EU sanctions against Russia.
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