The foreign ministers of Slovakia and Hungary have issued a complaint to the European Commission in connection with attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline which have halted supplies of Russian oil to both countries. They are complaining that the pipeline’s infrastructure has now been disrupted for the third time in nine days.

The foreign ministers of Slovakia and Hungary have issued a complaint to the European Commission in connection with attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline which have halted supplies of Russian oil to both countries. They are complaining that the pipeline’s infrastructure has now been disrupted for the third time in nine days.

Source: European Pravda, citing a letter from Slovakia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs to the European Commission

Quote: “Juraj Blanár, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, together with Péter Szijjártó, the head of Hungarian diplomacy, are sending a letter in this connection to the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, and European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jørgensen, in which they call on the Commission to immediately ensure compliance with commitments regarding the security of energy supplies to the member states of the European Union.”

Details: The Slovak foreign ministry recalled that the European Commission had noted in a statement dated 27 January 2025 that the integrity of the infrastructure supplying energy to EU member states is a matter of the security of the entire Union and had called on third countries to respect this.

“In this statement, the Commission declared that it is ready to protect our critical energy infrastructure, of which oil pipelines are a part, and therefore we consider it absolutely necessary that the EC defend the interests of member states and the energy security of its citizens, including citizens of the Slovak Republic. Any threat to the energy security of our country is unacceptable,” Blanár said, recalling that amid recent attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline, oil supplies were halted most recently on Monday.

The ministers said that after repairs had been carried out, supplies were quickly restored, but that serious damage had been inflicted as a result of an overnight attack by Ukraine on the oil pipeline near the Belarusian border and the extent of the damage is currently unknown. This will significantly affect oil supplies to Slovak refineries.

They believe that supplies will stop for five days as a result of the latest attack.

Quote: “We consider Ukraine’s actions, which seriously threaten the energy security of Slovakia and Hungary, absolutely unacceptable. We call on the Commission to immediately uphold the aforementioned commitments and guarantee the security of supplies to member states.”

Background:

Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár earlier reported for the third time that the Druzhba oil pipeline had been attacked, halting supplies of Russian oil to Slovakia again.On the night of 17-18 August, units within the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with other defence forces, struck the Nikolske oil pumping station in Russia’s Tambov Oblast.After this, Péter Szijjártó hinted at a possible cessation of electricity supplies from Hungary to Ukraine, despite the fact that electricity is supplied on a commercial basis.The European Commission said in response that the Ukrainian attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline has no impact on oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia, Budapest’s complaints against Kyiv notwithstanding.

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