Hungary bans entry of Ukrainian commander over Druzhba pipeline attack

Editor's note: The story was updated to include comments from a Hungarian official.

Hungary has decided to ban the commander of a Ukrainian military unit responsible for the latest attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline from entering the country and the Schengen Area, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Aug. 28.

In recent weeks, Ukraine carried out at least three attacks on the Druzhba oil pipeline, which delivers Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, temporarily disrupting operations.

Though Szijjarto did not name the commander hit by the ban, Balazs Orban, the Hungarian prime minister's political director, confirmed for Hungarian news outlet 444 that the measure targets Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces.

Brovdi, who is ethnically Hungarian and known by the call sign "Madyar," has confirmed that his branch was responsible for the drone strikes against Druzhba, including the latest one carried out on Aug. 21, which targeted the Unecha pumping station in Bryansk Oblast.

The Hungarian foreign minister described the strike as "an attack on Hungary’s sovereignty," saying it "endangered our energy security and nearly (forced) the use of our strategic reserves."

"Ukraine knows very well that the Druzhba pipeline is vital for Hungary’s and Slovakia’s energy supply, and that such strikes harm us far more than Russia," Szijjarto said on X.

The minister made no mention of the Russian overnight mass drone and missile attack on Kyiv on Aug. 28, which killed at least 15 people, including four children, and injured almost 40 others.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Budapest "is on the wrong side of history."

"Peter, if the Russian pipeline is more important to you than the Ukrainian children killed by Russia this morning, this is moral decay," he wrote on X.

The Druzhba pipeline, one of the world's largest, carries Russian oil directly to Hungary and Slovakia — the only EU countries still buying Russian crude through the system. In July, they imported $232 million and $196 million worth of oil, respectively.

Hungary has repeatedly opposed EU attempts to fully halt Russian energy imports and has threatened to block Ukraine's path to EU membership.