Hungary and Slovakia condemn ‘unacceptable’ Ukrainian strike after Russian oil stops flowing to Europe

The foreign ministers of Hungary and Slovakia have labelled Ukraine’s targeting of an energy pipeline facility in western Russia as “completely unacceptable”, after both countries claimed to have stopped receiving Russian oil following a drone attack in western Russia’s Bryansk region on Thursday night.

In a letter to the European Commission published on Friday, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár and Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó warned that Ukraine’s most recent attack on the Druzhba pipeline could halt deliveries for at least five days, and urged Brussels to “guarantee” its member states’ energy supplies.

“We regret to inform you that during the last days Ukraine has carried out three attacks against the Druzhba oil pipeline which plays a crucial role in the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia. These attacks resulted in the suspension of oil deliveries to both of our countries”, the letter reads.

On Friday, Ukraine’s Robert Brovdi, commander of the country’s Unmanned Systems Forces, reported on Telegram that drones had struck the Unecha oil pumping facility in Bryansk, with his post accompanied by video of explosions and large fires at the site.

While not confirming the target of the previous night’s Ukrainian attack, local authorities in Bryansk announced on Friday that a fire had briefly broken out at a “fuel infrastructure facility”, following a series of Ukrainian drone and missile strikes, before it was “completely extinguished”.

The Druzhba pipeline, one of the world’s largest oil, has already been taken out of operation by Ukrainian attacks on at least two other occasions in August, and one other occasion earlier this year.

In June 2022, when the European Union banned the import of Russian oil, Hungary, Slovakia and Czechia received official exemptions from Brussels to continue receiving deliveries of Russian oil through Druzhba due to the three states’ landlocked status.

While Czechia has effectively reduced its reliance on Russian oil imported via Druzhba, Russia supplied approximately 95,000 barrels of oil per day to Hungary via the pipeline last year according to Russian government data cited by Reuters.