US President Donald Trump is very angry with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban over the attacks on Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline that led to an exchange of irate letters over the weekend.

Ukraine has hit the Druzhba pipeline three times in the last few weeks, halting  the flow of oil from Russia’s Siberian oil fields to the Central European country, as Bankova (Ukraine’s equivalent of the Kremlin) ups its campaign to bomb Russia’s oil assets. Despite the introduction of the EU’s twin sanctions on Russian oil at the end of 2022, Hungary and Slovakia have an exemption and continue to import Russian oil via the Soviet-era pipeline.

In a letter published by Magyar Nemzet to Trump, Orban wrote: “The Ukrainians keep blowing up the ‘Druzhba’ pipeline. They did the same with ‘Nord Stream.’ The truth came out there too.”

Trump shot back a hand-written note scrawled on a copy of Orban’s letter, expressing his annoyance with the complaint.

“I hate to hear this. I’m very angry. Tell Slovakia. You’re my great friend.” Orban wrote a letter to the US president after the first attack on the oil pipeline.

Slovak President Peter Pellegrini chipped in to the ballooning scandal, thanking Donald Trump for his reaction to the strike on the Druzhba oil pipeline. Along with Hungary, Slovakia is also heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas imports.

“I value his firm and negative stance regarding Ukraine’s attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline — the energy infrastructure on which the people of Slovakia and our economy depend. I also expect support from our partners in the European Union,” Pellegrini said in a statement.

Ukraine’s allies have long been uncomfortable with Kyiv targeting Russian oil assets on its own territory. The whole point of the oil price cap sanctions was to allow Russia to continue to supply the market with its oil; the goal was simply to reduce the amount of money the Kremlin earns from these exports. However, as bne IntelliNews reported, oil sanctions are a spent cannon and have had little impact on Russia’s revenues. Consequently, Kyiv has taken matters into its own hands and has begun to target Russia’s refineries with increasingly powerful long-distance drones and cruise missiles.

Druzhba has been knocked out of action for at least five days by the last attack S&P Global reports. The European Commission confirmed it has also received a complaint from Hungary and Slovakia after the latest Druzhba pipeline attack, which both countries called a threat to their national security.

The European Commission is monitoring the suspension of oil deliveries to Slovakia and Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline but does not see an energy threat to the EU. Both countries maintain mandatory emergency reserves, and the EU has tools to address any sudden shortages or supply disruptions, Brussels says.

That has not placated Budapest as the war of words escalated in the last days. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy could barely hold back his laughter when asked about relations with Hungary over the weekend during Ukraine’s Independence Day celebrations.

During a press conference on August 24, Zelenskiy suggested that the future of the Druzhba oil pipeline may hinge on Hungary's position regarding Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Orban has been campaigning vigorously to prevent Ukraine’s accession, saying it will both bankrupt Brussels and provoke a war with Russia.

"We have always supported friendship between Ukraine and Hungary," Zelenskiy said. "The existence of 'Druzhba' depends on the position of Hungary."

That dig in the ribs provoked a sharp response from Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who accused Zelensky of threatening Hungary and its sovereignty.

"Hungary resolutely rejects the threats of the Ukrainian president. We consider sovereignty and territorial integrity to be key values of international politics, therefore we respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and expect the same from them," the Foreign Minister wrote on Facebook. 

"In recent days, Ukraine has made a serious encroachment on the security of our energy supply, and an encroachment on energy security should be regarded as an encroachment on sovereignty. A war that we have nothing to do with is not a legitimate reason to violate our sovereignty. We call on Vladimir Zelensky to stop threatening Hungary and not to endanger our energy security," he added. 

That post provoked a retort from Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha as the row escalated. Sybiha told Hungary to reduce its dependence on Russian energy.

"You don’t need to tell the Ukrainian President what to do or say, and when. He is the President of Ukraine, not Hungary," Sybiha wrote on X. "Hungary's energy security is in your own hands. Diversify and become independent from Russia, like the rest of Europe."

Ukraine’s attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline undermine the interests of not only Slovakia, but also Ukraine, Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanar said on the air of the Joj24 TV channel.

"The attacks by the Ukrainian army on the Druzhba oil pipeline, through which oil flows from Russia to Slovakia, not only contradict the national and state interests of Slovakia, but they do not benefit Ukraine itself," the minister said.

At the heart of the row is Hungary’s refusal to toe the EU line and cut itself off from Russian energy imports - a policy that has embarrassed Brussels which has been forced into compromises with Budapest thanks to its ability to veto more EU support for Ukraine, as well as annoying Bankova, which is striving to maximise the pressure on Moscow.

This is not the first time Kyiv has interfered with Russia’s deliveries of oil to Hungary. Last summer Bankova sanctioned Russian privately-owned oil major Lukoil, which was forced to halt deliveries of oil to Hungary as a result. The supplies were quickly replaced with deliveries by other Russian state-owned oil companies, but the threat was clear – Ukraine could use its sanctions to cut off supplies of piped oil to Hungary from Russia. The sanctions did not sit comfortably with Brussels, which is trying to keep Budapest on board as it needs its vote to get things like the eighteenth sanctions package through and get the stalled EU accession process for Ukraine started. Those sanctions were quietly dropped. But now as Ukraine increasingly finds itself in a missile war with Russia, it has chosen a decidedly more destructive and definitive method of halting Russia’s deliveries of oil to Hungary.

Now Brussels is being drawn into the fight. Hungarian MP Balazs Orban (no relation), who serves as Political Director of Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent a letter to Brussels, jointly authored by Bratislava’s Juraj Blanar, to EU foreign policy chief and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas complaining about the attacks on the pipeline and calling on the European Commission (EC) to pressure Ukraine into halting them.

“The pipeline is indispensable for our energy security, and the latest damage will halt deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia for at least five days,” the letter said.

“It is unacceptable that Ukraine continues to target this vital infrastructure despite Hungary carrying out the largest humanitarian program in its history to support the war-stricken population, while also providing Ukraine with a significant share of its gas and fuel supplies, as well as around 40% of its imported electricity,” the letter continued. “We therefore call on the Commission to fully uphold its commitments and guarantee the security of Member States’ energy supplies.”

Szijjarto said the latest Druzhba pipeline attack on August 21 has caused much greater damage than the previous two attacks on August 13 and 18, as both drones and missiles were used. He discussed the technical impact with Russia’s Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin, who promised repairs in at least five days.

“This strike is even more serious than the previous ones, as Ukraine used not only drones but also rockets,” Szijjarto wrote on X. “My Russian counterpart assured me they will rebuild the supply route as fast as possible, but repairs will take at least five days. Let’s hope the @EU_Commission finally uses this time to act on its promise and stand up to Ukraine’s attempts to block Hungary’s oil supply.”

Ukraine’s military confirmed late on Thursday that it had struck the crucial Unecha pumping facility that pushes oil down the line, describing it as a “vital node” in Russia’s export system. Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces, posted a video on Telegram showing a large blaze at an oil depot, though the location could not be independently verified. A drone strike at the Nikolskoye pumping station on August 21 started a five has now been blazing for five days.

Germany and Kazakhstan, which also use the Druzhba pipeline, reported their supplies remained unaffected. Berlin said deliveries to the PCK Schwedt refinery, which supplies fuel to the capital, were secure, while Kazakhstan confirmed its oil flows had not been disrupted.

The attacks have worsened a ballooning fuel crisis in Russia as production falls beneath demand for petrol and diesel, both of which were already under pressure from high military demand.

The crisis prompted Moscow to halt gasoline exports to conserve fuel for domestic use. On August 20, the price of A-95 (Euro-95) gasoline on the stock exchange hit ₽82,300 ($1,023) per ton, a 55% increase from the start of the year and an 8% rise since early August. Experts say Russia has already lost at least 10% of its oil refining capacity.

 

Major refinery strikes: 

2022

June 22, 2022 – Novoshakhtinsk (Rostov region)
Two drones struck the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery, causing a large fire. This was the first major Ukrainian strike against a Russian refinery.

December 2022 – Novoshakhtinsk (Rostov region)
Reported drone attack disrupted operations again, though damage was more limited than the June strike.

2023

March 2023 – Novoshakhtinsk

A further drone strike attempt was reported.

June 2023 – Novoshakhtinsk

Ukrainian UAVs again targeted the refinery, underscoring its vulnerability as a repeated target.

January 28, 2023 – Tuapse (Krasnodar region)
Fire broke out after drone strikes hit the Tuapse refinery, a major Black Sea facility owned by Rosneft.

June 2023 – Ilsky refinery (Krasnodar region)
A drone strike caused fire at the Ilsky plant, one of the largest refineries in southern Russia.

2024

January 2024 – Ust-Luga (Leningrad region)
Drone strike set ablaze an oil terminal at Ust-Luga, a key hub for refined products exports.

March 2024 – Nizhny Novgorod refinery (Lukoil’s Kstovo plant)
UAV attack caused fire at one of Russia’s largest inland refineries.

May 2024 – Slavyansk-on-Kuban refinery (Krasnodar region)
Explosions and fire were reported following Ukrainian drone activity.

June 2024 – Novoshakhtinsk
Once again targeted, with local authorities confirming drone damage.

December 2024 – “Technical incident” at Unecha pumping station (Bryansk region)
Though not a refinery, this Druzhba pipeline node was disrupted, widely attributed to Ukrainian drones.

2025

March 2025 – Unecha (Bryansk region)
Drone attack hit the Druzhba pipeline pumping system, halting oil flows.

August 2, 2025 – Ryazan refinery
One of Ukraine’s most damaging strikes: about half of the Ryazan refinery’s capacity (5% of Russia’s national total, 13.1mn tonnes annually) was knocked offline. This was described as one of Kyiv’s most damaging strikes of the summer.

August 13, 2025 – Unecha pumping station (Bryansk region)

Drone attack on Druzhba pipeline infrastructure in Unecha.

Crude deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia were suspended from August 13–18.

Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto said repairs were initially expected to take one day before further strikes complicated recovery.

August 18, 2025 – Unecha pumping station (Bryansk region)

Second strike on the same pumping facility delayed restoration of crude flows.

Crude deliveries remained disrupted, heightening pressure on Hungary and Slovakia’s fuel supplies.

August 21, 2025 – Nikolskoye pumping station (Bryansk region)

Third strike on the Druzhba system in less than two weeks.

Deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia were halted again, expected to remain offline for at least five days.

 

source: Dmitry Chernyshev, Livejournal