Hungary is banning from the country, and thus from the Schengen area, the commander who ordered the attacks on the Druzhba pipeline last week, Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on August 28.

"Ukraine is aware that the Druzhba pipeline is indispensable for Hungary's energy security and that attacks will harm not so much Russia but primarily Hungary and Slovakia," Szijjarto said, adding that the government will continue to "protect national interests, the security of energy supplies and Hungary's sovereignty.

Hungary’s chief diplomat did not name the Ukrainian commander in question, but local media writes that it is Robert Brovdy (Róbert Bródi in Hungarian), an ethnic Hungarian, who is the founder and commander of the “Birds of Magyar” drone unit and has risen in recent months to become commander of Ukraine’s entire drone force within the armed forces.

Pro-government media reported that Brovdy has been banned from the country for three years, as "his presence in Hungary would pose a national security risk".

The 50-year-old former businessman received the Hero of Ukraine award, the country’s highest state honour, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Brovdy, whose call sign also refers to his ethnic background (Magyar) was appointed head of Ukraine’s drone forces in June 2025. His units have claimed responsibility for several attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline, with Brovdi himself posting about them on social media, often accompanied by the Hungarian phrase “Ruszkik haza” (“Russians go home”), which echoes the slogan of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising Brovdy responded in strong terms to the decision to ban him from Hungary.

"Shove your sanctions and travel restrictions to Hungary up in your ass, Mr dancer on bones.
I am Ukrainian, and I will come to my Father’s Homeland after you. There are enough true Magyars in Hungary, and one day they will have had enough of you", he wrote on Facebook.

Ukraine is home to a large Hungarian ethnic minority that lives close to the Hungarian border and has been source of tension between Budapest and Kyiv, after the government tried to enforce Ukrainian-only language laws, especially on local schools.

The commander argued that by purchasing Russian oil under European Union sanctions, the Hungarian government was "contributing to the funding of Russia’s bloody war". He accused the Hungarian leadership of "filling its own pockets" rather than defending national sovereignty.

"Your hands are elbow-deep in Ukrainian blood. And we will remember that," Brovdy concluded his post.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also weighed in, calling the decision an outrage. Hungary had not expressed sympathy over civilian deaths, but instead continued to make accusations against Ukraine and shift the blame for the ongoing war onto Ukraine, he added.

"I have instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to clarify all the facts and respond accordingly", he concluded his post.

Brovdy’s ban has triggered a tweet war between Hungary and Poland.

Hungary's chief diplomat also reacted to a post by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who had invited the ethnic Hungarian commander to Poland, declaring: "Endangering Hungary’s energy security has nothing to do with Ukraine’s freedom!"

A few days earlier, when the Hungarian minister had again raised concerns over Ukrainian actions against Hungarian energy sovereignty, Sikorski commented: "Peter, we stand in solidarity with you to the extent you stand with us."

The Hungarian foreign minister then replied that Hungary would "never make the mistake of thinking of the Poles when it comes to solidarity."

Sikorski then posted a sharp comment along with a link to an article stating that it was commander Robert Brovdy, an ethnic Hungarian, responsible for an attack against the pipeline.

The clash of comments continued on Thursday evening, as Sikorski made it clear that Warsaw would enforce the ban "with the same diligence as Hungary enforces Poland’s European Arrest Warrant against a former politician wanted here on corruption charges." Sikorski was referring to former deputy justice minister Marcin Romanowski, who was granted political asylum in Hungary last year.