PM Orbán bans drones in Hungarian county and deploys armed forces to shield energy sites from Ukrainian strike

Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has ordered the reinforcement of defences around Hungary’s critical energy infrastructure, he announced in a video posted to his Facebook page on Wednesday following a meeting of the defence council.

The prime minister stated that the defence council session, convened in response to Ukraine’s oil blockade, had just concluded. No oil has arrived in Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline since 27 January.

“The data make it clear that this unprecedented shutdown has not technical but political causes,” Orbán said. “The Ukrainian government is exerting pressure on Hungary and Slovakia through the oil blockade.”

Mr Orbán added that he had heard reports from the national security services, which indicated that Ukraine was preparing further actions to disrupt Hungary’s energy system.

“To counter this, I have ordered the strengthening of protections for critical energy infrastructure,” he said. “This means stationing troops around key energy facilities, along with the equipment needed to repel attacks. Police will patrol in greater numbers around designated power stations, substations, and control centres. In Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, I have imposed a ban on drone flights.”

“Hungary cannot be blackmailed,” Orbán declared.

If you missed our articles concerning the Hungarian-Ukrainian conflict:

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