Trump to Orbán about Ukrainian Druzhba attack: “I am very angry about it”

The Druzhba oil pipeline has seen three Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil recently, and Budapest and Bratislava are calling on the European Commission to prevent such attacks, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Facebook on Friday, adding that the pipeline was crucial for Hungarian and Slovak energy supplies. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Orbán penned a brief message about the issue to Trump, who responded today.

Trump expressed deep anger over the Ukrainian attacks

Orbán’s political director, Balázs Orbán, shared a letter from the Prime Minister complaining about the Ukrainian assaults on the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, which supplies Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia. The attacks had previously halted oil transport for several days. We reported earlier that due to the latest attack, repairs to the pipeline would take at least five days.

• Hungarian soldier attacks Druzhba pipeline, halting Russian oil supplies to Hungary

Trump replied in handwriting, expressing his strong displeasure at the Ukrainian attacks on the Druzhba pipeline and suggested that Orbán should convey this sentiment to Slovakia as well. He also described Orbán as a great friend.

Yesterday, Trump posted on his Truth Social account that Ukraine should be supplied with the means to strike back against Russia rather than merely defending itself. He remarked that no war is won by defence alone; victory requires effective offensive action.

Hungarian governmnet calls on Brussels to prevent Ukrainian attacks on Druzhba pipeline

FM Szijjártó and Juraj Blanar, his Slovak counterpart, on Friday sent a letter to EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen, saying that oil supplies via the pipeline could be suspended for at least five days towards Hungary and Slovakia.

“Let’s be clear: with these attacks Ukraine is not primarily hurting Russia, but Hungary and Slovakia,” Szijjártó said. “The Druzhba pipeline is indispensable for our energy supply. Without it, providing oil to our countries is physically impossible. Such attacks are a direct and unacceptable assault on our energy security,” he added.

Noting that the EC pledged to take a stand against attacks on energy supply lines in January, Szijjártó said: “Yet after all three strikes it has remained silent, taking no steps to defend the energy supply of member states.” In the letter, Szijjártó and Blanar called on the EC to take steps against Ukrainian attacks on the pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia.

EC is not the Ukrainian Commission

“Brussels must understand: they are the European Commission, not the Ukrainian Commission!” Szijjártó said.

In the letter, Blanar and Szijjártó said that the EC declaration issued on January 27 called on third countries to respect the integrity of the energy infrastructure supplying member states as a “matter of EU security”. The commission said it was “ready to take measures to protect critical energy infrastructure such as electricity cables and oil or gas pipelines or facilities,” the letter said.

Energy security

“Given that in the past years, the EU and its Member States have provided hundreds of billions of Euros worth of support to Ukraine, we find Ukraine’s actions, which severely threaten the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia, completely unacceptable,” the letter said.

“To this end, we strongly call on the Commission to immediately uphold the commitments outlined in the abovementioned statements and guarantee the safety of energy supply for its Member States,” they said.

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