Ukraine hit the “Friendship” pipeline – Will Hungary and Slovakia be without oil?
On the day of the historical gathering of Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska, Ukraine launched an attack on Russia's key fuel infrastructure that supplies oil to Central European countries. Ukrainian drones hit the distribution station “Unecza” in the Brian region, paralyzing Russian oil supply through the “Friendship” pipeline, which is the main origin of natural material for both Hungary and Slovakia.
According to the latest reports, on 18 August there was another attack of Ukrainian drones, this time at the Nikolskoye oil pumping station in the Tambov region, which led to a complete halt to oil supply by the “Friendship” pipeline to both countries. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of the Ukraine Unmanned Systems Force, confirmed that behind the attack were standing drones of the 14th Unmanned Systems Unit Regiment.
The Hungarian abroad Minister Péter Szijártó reacted immediately, calling the attack “disgusting and unacceptable”. In a sharp message published on social media, he stressed that Ukraine's actions are straight threatening its country's energy security. “Since 3.5 years Brussels and Kiev have tried to drag Hungary into the war in Ukraine. These repeated Ukrainian attacks on our energy supply service the same purpose," said the Hungarian politician.
The Slovak pipeline operator Transpetrol confirmed that oil supplies to Slovakia had stopped, although he was initially unaware of the reason for the interruption that occurred outside the country. Both Hungary and Slovakia are in an exceptional situation in the European Union due to the fact that both countries received an exemption from the EU ban on Russian oil imports introduced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The irony of the situation is that, as Shijjártó claims, Hungary is presently the largest electricity supplier for Ukraine. “Without us, Ukraine’s energy safety would be highly unstable”, stressed the Minister, stressing the absurd Ukrainian attack on the pipeline, which is crucial for the Hungarian economy.
Ukrainian abroad Minister Andrij Sybiha, responding to the allegations of Shijjártó, stated that Hungary “may now direct complaints and threats” to Moscow alternatively than Kiev. He added that “it was Russia, not Ukraine, that began this war and refused to end it. Hungary has been informed for years that Moscow is an unbelievable partner. Nevertheless, Hungary has made all effort to keep its dependence on Russia."
For both countries, this attack means serious oil supply problems. Hungary imports a vast majority of its natural material from Russia – over the last six months it has been 18.7 million barrels. According to the Reuters agency, last year Russia supplied about 95,000 barrels of oil a day to Hungary through this pipeline. alternate sources of supply are insufficient to cover current demand.
This is not the first time that Ukrainian drones attack the pipeline infrastructure “Friendship”. In March this year, a akin attack in the Orlov Region caused a temporary halt to oil supply to Hungary. Then, according to Shijjártó, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Paweł Sorokin assured him that work was underway to reconstruct supplies.
Currently, Sorokin informed the Hungarian minister that specialists are working on repairing a transformer station crucial for the operation of the pipeline, but it is not yet clear erstwhile deliveries will resume. According to Russian pipeline operator Transneft, repairing the pipeline can take up to 2 months.
It is worth noting that The attack coincided with the long-awaited Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, which took place on 15 August 2025, and then with the gathering of president Trump with the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenski in the White home on 19 August. Although the Trump-Putin Summit did not bring the expected ceasefire agreement, president Trump announced after a gathering with Zelenski that “he had begun preparations for the meeting, at a place to be determined, between president Putin and president Zelenski”.
Some analysts propose that the Ukrainian attack on the pipeline may have been deliberately planned on time for these crucial diplomatic meetings to exert additional force on Russia and its European partners. The question is, whether Ukraine is allowed to do akin things in favour of the European Union, to force Hungary and Slovakia to completely abandon Russian oil and buy more costly alternatives in a spirit of European solidarity.
Hungary, under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, and Slovakia under the leadership of Robert Fico, have since the beginning of the conflict held a separate position against sanctions against Russia, consistently defending their right to acquisition Russian energy resources. The latest incidental will surely exacerbate tensions between these countries and Ukraine and can complicate European efforts to advance a common policy towards the war in Ukraine.
Source:
https://www.newsweek.com/hungary-ukraine-russia-oil-pipeline-attack-nato-2114872
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/hungary-outraged-as-ukraine-drone-strike-1755138887.html
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/08/13/7526058
https://kyivindependent.com/hungary-condemns-Ukrainian-strike-on-druzhba-pipeline
