Hungary begs Ukraine to spare Russian oil pipelines after drone strike cuts off flow

Shipments of Russian oil to Hungary were interrupted on Tuesday after Ukraine launched a major wave of drone strikes against Moscow, just months after Budapest secured a sweetheart deal with Kyiv that allows it to keep buying supplies of fuel despite the invasion.

In a video statement posted online, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said that "oil deliveries on the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary had to be temporarily suspended" following the drone attack.

"I have just spoken to Russia's deputy energy minister, who said that a drone hit at a measuring station has made deliveries impossible for the time being, but that repair work is underway and, unless something extraordinary happens, oil deliveries to Hungary could resume in the late afternoon or early evening."

Szijjártó called on Ukraine "not to attack the energy infrastructure directed to Hungary" as Kyiv works to weaken Russia's war machine. Kyiv's armed forces said Tuesday that they had "struck a number of strategic objects of the Russian Federation involved in ensuring armed aggression against Ukraine."

Budapest has used what was supposed to be a temporary exemption to an European Union ban on Russian oil to step up its purchases of crude via the overland pipeline network, making major profits from discounted crude.

In September, Ukraine signed off on an agreement that would allow Hungary to continue buying Russian oil despite having itself imposed sanctions on one of its major suppliers. Under the arrangement, the fuel is considered to be Hungarian the moment it crosses the border into Ukrainian territory, allowing it to transit the country.

Hungary has repeatedly threatened to veto any efforts by the EU to further reduce its dependency on Russian energy. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán last week blocked what would have otherwise been unanimous approval for a statement by European leaders affirming support for Ukraine and tougher sanctions on Moscow.

In a message posted online on Tuesday, Ukraine's sanctions envoy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, accused Hungary of using the "Druzhba pipeline problem as an argument to block the continuation of sanctions" at an EU level, arguing Budapest is undermining "the unity of the EU."