Slovakia Condemns Ukraine’s Attack on Druzhba Pipeline
Slovakia has strongly condemned Ukraine for recent attacks on the Drujhba pipeline, a critical route for Russian oil to the EU, calling the attacks an unacceptable threat to energy security. The country’s foreign minister expressed concern over the potential impact on their energy supply.
The Drujhba pipeline, spanning 4,00,000 km, is a vital route for Russian crude oil deliveries to Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland. The attacks have raised concerns among other EU nations following similar incidents on other energy infrastructure.
Slovak officials informed the European Commission that Kiev had carried out several attacks on the pipeline in recent days, the latest of which was earlier on Friday. Slovak officials later said the section of the pipeline damaged in the latest attack is expected to be repaired by Monday, though full recovery of supplies may take several days.
“Any threat to our country’s energy security is unacceptable,” Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar wrote on X. This statement underscores the severity with which Slovakia views the situation.
According to Budapest, the latest strike occurred near the Russian-Belarusian border. It follows two earlier attacks, on August 13 and August 18. Kiev confirmed it had sent drones to strike a key distribution station in Russia’s Bryansk Region.
Ukraine’s actions have extended to other energy infrastructure. Apart from Druzhba, the Ukrainian military has attacked the TurkStream pipeline, which supplies natural gas to Turkish consumers and several European countries, including Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece. Earlier this year, Kiev struck a gas metering station near Sudzha, part of a pipeline that supplied the EU prior to the escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban raised the issue directly with US President Donald Trump, calling the attacks a “very unfriendly move” against countries that support Ukraine with electricity and fuel. Trump, in a handwritten note posted by Orban’s political director on Facebook, replied: “I do not like hearing this – I am very angry about it. Tell Slovakia you are my great friend.”
The Kremlin has consistently condemned Ukrainian attacks on civilian energy infrastructure as acts of terrorism, further highlighting the political tensions surrounding the situation.