Hungary announces resumption of Russian oil flows via Druzhba pipeline

Russian oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary have resumed after a temporary suspension, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced late on Tuesday, 19 August, on Facebook. He thanked Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin for swiftly repairing damage caused by what he said was a Ukrainian attack on the pipeline infrastructure.

“We expect that Ukraine will not carry out further attacks on this pipeline, which is critical to our country’s energy supply. This war is not our war, do not drag us into it!”, Szijjártó said.

It was previously reported that on the night of 18 August, units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with other defense forces, struck the Nikolske oil pumping station in the Tambov region of Russia.

Szijjártó insisted that the interruption highlighted the vulnerability of Hungary’s energy security, warning that Budapest expects “no further attacks” on the route. He reiterated that Hungary is being “dragged into a war that is not ours,” urging Kyiv to refrain from targeting infrastructure critical to his country’s supply.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha had reacted by saying that it was Russia, not Ukraine, that began the war and bears sole responsibility for disruptions to regional energy flows. He reminded Budapest that Hungary had chosen to preserve its dependence on Russian resources despite repeated warnings from both Kyiv and Brussels.

Pipeline politics: Hungary and Ukraine clash over energy security

The Druzhba pipeline, in operation since the 1964, remains the backbone of Hungary’s oil supply, covering more than half of national consumption. Also known as the Friendship Pipeline, this is the world’s longest oil pipeline, stretching over 4,000 kilometers from Russia to Eastern Europe, including Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Germany. It has been a critical conduit for Russian and Kazakh oil exports but faced disruptions, notably due to Ukrainian military strikes on its infrastructure in 2025, amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Dependence as leverage

Hungary today remains one of the EU’s most exposed economies to Russian energy. Over half of its crude imports still arrive via Druzhba, feeding Hungarian oil and gas company MOL’s refineries in Százhalombatta and Bratislava, which were built in Soviet times to process Russia’s Urals blend.

Technically, alternatives exist. Croatia’s Adriatic JANAF pipeline could supply Hungary with up to 14 million tonnes annually, while a potential Odesa-Brody route would give access to global seaborne oil. Budapest is also negotiating a new Serbian link and has signed contracts with Azerbaijan. Yet each option comes with obstacles – higher tariffs, infrastructure upgrades, security risks, or limited volumes.

This vulnerability has given Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government a powerful bargaining chip in Brussels. When the European Commission pushed for an embargo on Russian crude in 2022, Budapest secured exemptions. More recently, draft legislation banning Russian pipeline gas imports was designed specifically to prevent Hungary and Slovakia from vetoing it.

Hungary’s accusations against Ukraine over Druzhba mark another flashpoint in their already fraught relations, which include disputes over the rights of the Hungarian minority in Zakarpattia, Budapest’s reluctance to back EU sanctions, its veto on Ukraine’s EU accession and repeated delays to military aid packages for Kyiv.

Trump calls Orbán

On Monday US President Donald Trump called Orbán after talks at the White House, reportedly to ask why he was blocking Ukraine’s talks to join the European Union.

According to Bloomberg, European leaders asked Trump to use his influence on Orbán to force him to abandon his opposition to Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

Reportedly during his conversation with Trump, the Hungarian Prime Minister expressed interest in hosting talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Orbán hasn’t spoken publicly about his conversation with the US president, but earlier on Tuesday he spoke out against linking Ukraine’s EU membership to the issues of security guarantees under a possible peace agreement.

Caption: Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto speaks at a joint press conference with North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski (not seen) in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, 13 June 2025. EPA/GEORGI LICOVSKI