Slovakia, Hungary urge EU to act as Druzhba pipeline disruptions continue

Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó have jointly appealed to the European Commission to ensure the energy security of European Union member states.

According to reports from Slovak media, Blanár emphasised that any threat to oil supplies is unacceptable, recalling that deliveries were previously halted after the Druzhba oil pipeline was damaged in a strike and only resumed after repairs.

"Earlier, the European Commission stated that it was ready to protect our critical energy infrastructure, which includes oil pipelines, so we consider it absolutely necessary for the EU to defend the interests of member states and the energy security of its citizens," Blanár said, stressing once again that any threat to the energy security of EU countries cannot be tolerated.

Officials in Slovakia and Hungary confirmed that oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline have been suspended for at least five days.

As of August 22, Hungary has stopped receiving Russian oil for the second time in a week following drone strikes on the Druzhba pipeline.

Earlier, Robert Brovdi, known by the call sign Magyar, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Unmanned Systems Forces, reported that Ukrainian drones had struck the Unecha oil pumping station, which is part of the Druzhba system. In recent days, drones also targeted the Nikolskoye pumping station in Russia’s Tambov region and again hit Unecha, leading to the suspension of oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia.

By Tamilla Hasanova