Drone Strike Shuts Down Druzhba Pipeline: Hungary Feels the Heat

Picture this: a Ukrainian drone zips through the night, slams into a Russian oil metering station, and suddenly, the flow of crude through the Druzhba pipeline—a lifeline for Hungary—grinds to a halt. That’s exactly what happened on March 11, 2025, according to Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. In a Facebook video that’s equal parts frustration and plea, he confirmed the suspension of oil shipments, pinning the blame squarely on Kyiv’s latest move in its escalating tit-for-tat with Moscow.
The Druzhba pipeline, a Soviet-era beast that snakes from Russia through Belarus and Ukraine to Eastern Europe, isn’t just a piece of infrastructure—it’s a geopolitical football. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s military brass crowed about hitting two targets: an oil refinery near Moscow and a facility in Russia’s Oryol region tied to Druzhba’s export system. “Strategic objects supporting Russia’s aggression,” they called them. The result? A metering station took a hit, and the oil tap to Hungary turned off. Szijjártó, ever the pragmatist, got on the horn with Russia’s energy minister, who promised repairs were underway. If all goes smoothly (a big “if” in wartime), shipments could resume by evening. Fingers crossed, right?
But here’s where it gets juicy. Hungary’s not just annoyed—it’s downright spooked. Szijjártó begged Ukraine to keep its drones away from “energy infrastructure directed to Hungary,” framing it as a sovereignty issue. Budapest’s been walking a tightrope since Russia’s invasion kicked off in 2022: cozying up to Moscow for cheap oil while the EU tries to wean itself off Russian energy. The Druzhba’s southern strand, which forks in Ukraine to feed Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, is one of the last threads keeping that relationship alive. And now it’s fraying.
Speaking of Slovakia, they’re in the same boat. Transpetrol, the country’s pipeline operator, confirmed the oil stopped flowing Tuesday morning. They’re hoping for a restart by nightfall, but no word yet on how long their reserves can hold out. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic’s been off Druzhba since last week—payment snags tied to U.S. sanctions, not drones, forced them to dip into state reserves. Unipetrol, the Czech refiner owned by Poland’s Orlen, is keeping its plants humming, but it’s a reminder: this pipeline’s a house of cards in a windstorm.
Szijjártó’s not wrong to worry. Hungary imports most of its crude via Druzhba, and while the EU’s largely ditched Russian oil, Budapest’s clung to its exemption like a life raft. Russia’s Transneft, which runs the pipeline’s Russian leg, stayed mum when Reuters came knocking. But Ukraine’s General Staff didn’t hold back, boasting about explosions at the “Steel Horse” dispatch station in Oryol—Druzhba’s nerve center. Kyiv’s playing hardball, and Hungary’s caught in the crossfire.
So, what’s next? If Russia patches things up quick, this might just be a blip. But if the drones keep coming—or if Ukraine decides Druzhba’s too juicy a target to ignore—Hungary’s energy sovereignty could take a bigger hit than Szijjártó’s willing to admit. For now, it’s a waiting game. One thing’s clear: in this war, even the pipes aren’t safe.