BUDAPEST, February 25. /TASS/. Russian oil supplies to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline are currently being blocked from Ukraine by the same people who organized the 2022 terrorist attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said during a meeting with citizens in Kiskunlachaza, Pest County.
He called it a disgrace that the EU has not yet completed its investigation into the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, which, he recalled, constitutes an act of state terrorism. Moreover, some European leaders are not only turning a blind eye to it but are also "honoring the criminals as heroes," the foreign minister said. "The same people who blew up the Nord Streams are now blocking the transport of raw materials through the Druzhba oil pipeline. We must not allow that," the MTI news agency quoted Szijjarto as saying.
"Therefore, it is very important to protect the pipelines that supply oil and natural gas to Hungary from the threat of attack," the minister stressed. He noted that such attacks cannot be ruled out and that it is "necessary to be prepared for them." According to him, the government has taken "the necessary measures to prevent attempts to blow up oil and gas pipelines in Hungary."
Earlier on Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ordered increased protection of Hungary’s energy infrastructure against possible attacks from Ukraine. He said military personnel and equipment would be deployed at these facilities. Police patrols guarding power plants, distribution stations, and control centers have been reinforced. In the northeastern Szabolcs-Szatmar-Bereg region bordering Ukraine, drone flights have been banned.
Explosions on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines occurred on September 26, 2022. Ukrainian citizens were detained in Italy and Poland as suspects in the case. Italy extradited one of the detainees to Germany for trial, while Poland refused to do so. The investigation is ongoing. Earlier, the German Federal Supreme Court said in a ruling that the explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines were most likely carried out "on behalf of a foreign state," specifically Ukraine.