Budapest has ordered units to guard critical infrastructure sites in areas bordering Ukraine amid the Druzhba oil pipeline standoff
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has ordered military units and additional police to guard energy infrastructure sites in his country’s east, citing the threat of potential Ukrainian attacks.
Orban announced the deployment on Wednesday amid the continuing standoff between Budapest and Kiev over the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, which until recently carried Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine.
The pipeline went offline in late January, with Kiev claiming it was damaged in Russian strikes, which Moscow has denied. Both Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of deliberately withholding supplies for political reasons, threatening retaliation.
Announcing the move, Orban cited intelligence obtained by the country’s security services about the potential attacks and stressed that Hungary “cannot be blackmailed” by Kiev.
“I have ordered reinforced protection of critical infrastructure, troop deployment where necessary, increased police presence, and a drone ban in Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg county,” the prime minister wrote on X, referring to the Hungarian region bordering Ukraine.
Orban’s political director, Balazs Orban, claimed that information available to the country’s authorities indicated that Kiev has been “preparing further actions aimed at disrupting the operation of Hungary’s energy system.”
The deployment comes after Budapest vetoed the latest EU package of sanctions against Russia, as well as a €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan for Ukraine. The loan was agreed upon late last year, after Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic opted out of contributing to it financially.
The veto has been condemned by the EU leadership, which accused Orban of bailing on his promise to support the loan scheme and undermining the “credibility of decisions taken collectively.”
“Any breach of this commitment constitutes a violation of the principle of sincere cooperation,” European Council President Antonio Costa told Orban in a letter.
The Hungarian prime minister shot back at Costa on Wednesday, stating he will not support any pro-Ukrainian moves until Kiev returns “to normality.”
“We take a decision financially favorable to Ukraine that I personally disapprove, then Ukraine creates an energy emergency situation in Hungary, and you ask me to pretend that nothing happened,” Orban told the EU Council chief in a letter.
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