Hungary and Slovakia are urging the European Commission to press Ukraine to stop striking Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline after a drone and missile attack in the Bryansk region halted deliveries early Friday, marking the third such disruption in less than two weeks.
“Within just nine days, the Druzhba oil pipeline, which supplies oil to Hungary and subsequently Slovakia, has suffered its third incident of damage,” the foreign ministries of Hungary and Slovakia said in a joint statement. “[We] call on the European Commission to immediately ensure that commitments to safeguard the energy security of EU member states are upheld.”
Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies both Hungary and Slovakia, was struck in an overnight attack near the Russian-Belarusian border.
“This is yet another strike against our country’s energy security. Another attempt to drag us into the war,” Szijjártó wrote on Facebook. “It will not succeed! We will continue to support every effort toward peace, and we will defend our national interests!”
Slovakia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Denisa Saková also said oil deliveries to her country had been disrupted early Friday.
“Another attack on the Druzba pipeline near the Belarusian border. Overloading is about to stop. We are investigating the extent of the damage,” she wrote on Facebook.
Authorities in western Russia’s Bryansk region said Ukrainian drone and missile strikes set fire to a “fuel infrastructure site” in the Unechsky district, though the blaze was extinguished by morning. NASA’s fire map showed two active blazes in the area, around 50 kilometers north of the border with Ukraine.
Ukrainian military officials said the attack targeted the Unecha oil pumping station and posted footage showing explosions and large fires at the facility.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed 19 Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk region overnight, with 54 drones reported overall.
The Druzhba pipeline was previously forced offline by Ukrainian strikes on Aug. 13 and Aug. 18. Kyiv has increasingly targeted Russian refineries and oil infrastructure this year, pushing wholesale gasoline prices inside Russia to record highs.
The EU banned most Russian oil imports after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but exempted the Druzhba pipeline.
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