By Anita Komuves
BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Russian crude oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline were halted on Monday, officials in Hungary and Slovakia said, with Budapest blaming a Ukrainian attack on a part of the network.
Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, a key conduit for generating money for Kremlin’s war efforts, with oil and gas sales accounting for a quarter of Russia’s state total budget proceeds.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha neither confirmed nor denied the account of the latest attack, but wrote on X that Hungary “can now send complaints” to Moscow, not Kyiv.
The oil supply disruptions have happened as U.S. President Donald Trump is due to host Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders in Washington later on Monday to press Kyiv into accepting a peace deal with Russia.
Unlike most other EU countries, Hungary has kept up its reliance on Russian energy since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. It imports most of its crude via the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Belarus and Ukraine to Hungary and also Slovakia.
Oil flows via the Soviet-built Druzhba pipeline were also briefly suspended in March following a Ukrainian attack on a metering station.
Szijjarto wrote on Facebook that he had talked to Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin who told him that experts were working to restore the transformer station he says was hit in the latest attack, but it was unclear when deliveries would resume.
“This latest strike against our energy security is outrageous and unacceptable,” Szijjarto wrote. He did not say when or where the attack took place.
Sorokin did not respond to a request for comment. Russia’s Transneft, which operates Druzhba in Russia, and its energy ministry declined to immediately comment.
According to Russian government data, Russia supplied 4.78 million metric tons, or around 95,000 barrels per day, of oil to Hungary via Druzhba last year.
Sybiha wrote on X on Monday: “It is Russia, not Ukraine, who began this war and refuses to end it. Hungary has been told for years that Moscow is an unreliable partner. Despite this, Hungary has made every effort to maintain its reliance on Russia.”
Slovak pipeline operator Transpetrol confirmed that the supply of oil to Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline had stopped.
“Our company does not know more information about the reason for the suspension, which is outside the territory of the Slovak Republic. Oil transportation through Slovak territory is ensured and carried out in accordance with the pumping plan,” the company said.
Ukraine’s defence ministry and armed forces did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hungarian oil company MOL said overall regional supply of oil remains guaranteed after a halt in flows from Russia through the Druzhba pipeline.
“Technical restoration is underway, after which crude oil deliveries will resume,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Security of supply for the region remains guaranteed.”
Last year Szijjarto said the Druzhba pipeline would remain Hungary’s primary route for crude oil imports.
Monday’s suspension of oil deliveries comes after a temporary halt last week when Ukraine’s military said on August 13 that its drones had hit an oil pumping station in Russia’s Bryansk region.
(Reporting by Anita Komuves; Additional reporting by Yuliia Dysa and Vera Dvorakova in Gdansk; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Jan Harvey)
