Ukrainian drones have struck the Kaleykino oil pumping station near Almetyevsk, Russia, on the night of 22–23 February, multiple Russian and Ukrainian news sources have reported.
This is a key development in Hungarian–Ukrainian relations, as the pumping station is a major component in the supply chain of the crude oil exports transferred to Europe from Russia through the Druzhba pipeline. Tensions over the delayed restart of the crucial pipeline have already been rising between Slovakia and Hungary, the two major recipients of Russian crude oil in Europe, and the Zelenskyy administration in Ukraine.
The Druzhba pipeline stopped the flow of oil on 27 January, due to a Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure, according to the official explanation by the Kyiv government. However, Prime Ministers Robert Fico of Slovakia and Viktor Orbán of Hungary have both claimed in public that they have information suggesting that the pipeline is actually operational again, but the Zelenskyy administration refuses to reopen it to put political pressure on the Hungarian government to drop its opposition to Ukraine’s EU accession.
In response, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó has announced that Hungary will be vetoing the 20th EU sanctions package on Russia at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, 23 February, and Budapest would only be willing to lift its veto if the Druzhba pipeline resumes operation.
Hungary has stopped its diesel exports, amounting to around 10 per cent of Ukraine’s total import of the fuel in retaliation for the halting of the crucial pipeline’s flow. FM Szijjártó has shared that Budapest is considering stopping electricity exports to Ukraine as well. That would be a devastating blow to Kyiv, as it makes up about 50 per cent of its total electricity supply. However, given that it would greatly affect the ethnic Hungarian community in Transcarpathia as well, the Hungarian government is hesitant to make the drastic move.
The Kaleykino oil pumping station hit in the overnight Ukrainian drone strike lies deep in Russian territory, around 684 miles (1,100 kilometres) away from the Ukrainian border. Therefore, speculation is that it was specifically targeted to threaten Hungary’s energy security ahead of the parliamentary election this April.
Russian energy infrastructure was also hit in the city of Belgorod on the same night, causing major power outages in the region.
‘All day long, air defence forces, the Ministry of Defence, BARS-Belgorod, Orlan, the Self-Defense Forces, and the Russian National Guard have been repelling missile strikes, as well as a massive drone attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Belgorod, the Belgorod District, and the entire border region!’ Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov of the Belgorod Region wrote in a public Telegram post on 22 February, as quoted by the Kyiv Post.
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