Kathrine Frich
An airstrike has disrupted one of the last active routes for Russian oil into the European Union.
The incident has reignited tensions between Kyiv and Budapest over energy dependence and the war in Ukraine.
Pipeline hit
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said Russia damaged the Druzhba oil pipeline during an airstrike launched on January 27.
The southern branch of the pipeline crosses Ukraine and supplies Hungary and Slovakia, the only EU countries still importing Russian oil via this route.
“We know that the Hungarian side is preparing to complain again about the problems with the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline,” Sibiga wrote on X. “We can only recommend that they address these photos to their ‘friends’ in Moscow.”
He published an image showing a section of the burning pipeline being extinguished by Ukrainian firefighters.
Political row
Sibiga criticised Budapest for its response to the incident.
“Hungary did not express any protest to Russia in this regard. They could not even utter the word ‘Russia’. Double standards at their best,” he wrote.
According to Bloomberg, Russia made no oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia in February following the strike.
A source familiar with the matter said January volumes had already dropped to around 150,000 barrels per day, compared with an average of roughly 200,000 barrels per day in January-February between 2022 and 2025.
Hungary and Slovakia remain the only EU member states continuing to buy Russian oil through Druzhba.
Energy tensions
In January, the European Union confirmed its decision to phase out Russian gas imports entirely by 2027, a move Hungary and Slovakia have challenged in court.
The European Commission has also signalled plans to introduce legislation to end Russian oil imports by the same deadline.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán recently described Ukraine as “our enemy” over its calls to halt Russian energy supplies to the EU, arguing that Kyiv “should never be accepted” into the bloc.
Sibiga responded that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is the root cause of the crisis, adding that Budapest has failed to diversify its energy sources. “We suggest they open their eyes,” he wrote.
Sources: Digi24, Bloomberg
