Szijjártó calls on Zelensky to stop “threatening Hungary” amid attacks on Druzhba pipeline
26 August 17:49
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has reacted sharply to the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that the Ukrainian leader allegedly used Independence Day to “threaten” Budapest, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Szijjártó was outraged by Zelensky’s comment on the future of the Druzhba pipeline. The President of Ukraine stressed that the existence of both this facility and the political “friendship” between Ukraine and Hungary will directly depend on the position of Viktor Orban’s government.
“Volodymyr Zelenskyy used Ukraine’s national holiday as a way to severely threaten Hungary. We categorically reject such rhetoric,” Szijjarto wrote.
He reminded that the Druzhba pipeline has repeatedly been the target of Ukrainian attacks. In particular, on August 13, 18, and 21, Ukrainian Armed Forces drones attacked facilities in the Bryansk region of Russia, which temporarily halted oil pumping to Europe, in particular to Hungary and Slovakia.
“Ukraine has recently launched serious attacks against our energy security. Attacks against energy security can be seen as attacks against sovereignty,” the Hungarian foreign minister said.
He also added that Budapest “has nothing to do with the war” in Ukraine, and therefore expects Kyiv to respect the “sovereignty and territorial integrity” of other states.
Szijjarto also touched upon the issue of electricity supplies to Ukraine, emphasizing that Budapest could take advantage of Kyiv’s dependence, but “does not want to harm Ukrainian families.”
“Ukraine receives 30 to 40% of its electricity imports from Hungary every month. We could create huge difficulties for the neighboring country, but we do not want anything bad for the Ukrainian people. We are better than that,” he said in a commentary to the Hungarian publication Index.
In the end, the diplomat called on the Ukrainian president to “stop threatening” and “not to risk the energy security of the region.”
The Druzhba pipeline is one of the world’s largest oil pipelines for the transportation of oil from Russia to Europe. Its branches supply raw materials to Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. For Budapest, this is a critically important route, as Hungary receives more than 60% of its oil through Druzhba.
After the outbreak of a full-scale war, the EU imposed an embargo on Russian oil imports by sea, but Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic were granted an exception, allowing them to continue using the pipeline, citing energy dependence.
In August 2025, Ukrainian drones attacked Druzhba’s infrastructure several times in the Bryansk region of Russia. In particular, on August 13, 18, and 21, the Unecha station and other facilities were attacked. As a result of the attacks, oil pumping to Hungary and Slovakia was temporarily halted.
In Ukraine, these attacks are explained by the fact that Russian oil remains a source of funding for the war, and the pipeline is an element of the Kremlin’s economic stability. Hungary, on the other hand, has repeatedly criticized Kyiv, claiming that such attacks “threaten its energy security.”
