A Ukrainian drone and missile strike on Russia’s Unecha pumping station in Bryansk Oblast briefly disrupted oil flows to Hungary last week. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the Aug. 13 attack, carried out jointly by the Rocket Forces and Artillery, the Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems branch, and the Defense Ministry’s HUR intelligence agency, resulted in direct hits and a fire near the station’s booster pump building.
The Unecha facility is a key node on the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil through Ukraine to Central Europe.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó condemned the strike, calling the pumping station “critically important” to Hungary’s energy security. In a Facebook post, he accused Kyiv of undermining European stability, stressing that Hungary currently supplies Ukraine with electricity.
However, sources in the oil and gas sector stated that the attack coincided with a scheduled maintenance shutdown on the Russian side of the pipeline. They suggested the timing pointed to a political signal directed at Budapest rather than an effort to cause lasting supply disruptions.
Oil transit resumes, but at lower levels
Oil deliveries to Hungary resumed on Aug. 15 via a bypass route, though volumes were reduced by roughly one-third while repairs continue. Russia’s Transneft and Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta manage the transit under an agreement valid until 2030.
Data from NV Business and Argus Media shows Russia shipped more than 11 million metric tons of crude through Ukraine in 2024, including 4.8 million tons to Hungarian refineries. That represents just a fraction of Russia’s total crude exports of 202 million tons. With the Czech Republic no longer importing Russian oil, the southern Druzhba corridor now accounts for about 4.5 percent of Moscow’s exports.
The temporary halt comes as Hungary explores options to diversify away from Russian crude. Industry sources said talks are underway with Kazakh suppliers, with some shipments already reaching Hungary via Ukraine. Budapest is also considering access to the Odesa-Brody pipeline as an alternative supply route.
While Ukraine is bound by international agreements to continue facilitating oil transit, it has raised tariffs for Russian crude since the start of the full-scale invasion. The European Commission has previously stated that Kyiv may suspend flows on security grounds without breaching EU trade obligations, despite repeated complaints from Hungary and Slovakia.
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Post Image Credit: Intelligentia Geospatialis
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