Ball in Hungary’s court? Zelenskyy hints at fate of Druzhba pipeline
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (facebook.com zelenskyy.official)
The existence of the Druzhba oil pipeline, just like the political friendship between Ukraine and Hungary, is now directly tied to Budapest’s position, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says during a press conference.
During the press conference, a journalist asked whether, after the strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline and appeals to US President Donald Trump, Ukraine had gained additional leverage over Hungary, in particular, regarding the lifting of its veto on opening EU accession negotiation clusters.
In response, Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine has always supported friendship between the two countries, but its further existence now depends on Hungary’s position.
“We have always supported 'friendship' between Ukraine and Hungary, but now the existence of 'friendship' depends on Hungary,” the President of Ukraine explained.
That’s why, during the press conference, it became clear that the future of the oil pipeline and relations with Budapest will now be determined by the Hungarian side.
Strikes on Druzhba oil pipeline
The first attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline took place on August 13. Already on August 18, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out a second strike on the Nikolskoye oil pumping station in Russia’s Tambov region.
As a result of this attack, a fire broke out at the facility, and the Russians completely halted oil pumping through the Druzhba pipeline.
On August 21, drones again struck the Unecha oil pumping station, halting oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia.
This happened literally a day after Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó boasted about the news of the pipeline resuming operations.
After that, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski even somewhat trolled Szijjártó, noting that Hungary receives from the EU the same level of solidarity that it demonstrates on other issues.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán boasted of a response from US President Donald Trump to his complaint letter.
In it, Trump allegedly calls Orbán his “great friend” and states that he is “very angry” about the strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline.
