The pump station building at a Druzhba pipeline facility was destroyed during yesterday’s Ukrainian strike on Naitopovichi, Bryansk region, Russian media report. The station is a key part of the pipeline system and cannot operate without the pump unit, which moves oil and fuel.
🖕 Hungary
Well, guess I'm gonna be poking fun at pissed off Hungarians on reddit today... lol
Whatever will pouty Peter say now?!?
Can someone explain? Shouldn't be the southern part turned off like months ago? It goes through Ukraine and I remember it was a topic some months ago. The northern Druzhba is under control of Poland in the end. So what gives?
Ukraine only said they'd cease transport of crude from Russia by Dec 31 2025. The damage on the Druzhba pipeline seems to be collateral damage from strikes on Russia's oil transport infrastructure.
Politically it would be quite hard ball to tell Hungary and Slovakia to seek new oil supply by Dec 31 and then in August tell them the deadline has moved up to the point where they're now destroying the pipeline already. I hope there's some smart political communication going on behind the scenes.
Otherwise - regardless of what you think about Ukraine and Hungary - its just wanton destruction and needless antagonizing.
Probably this: bsky.app/profile/kyiv...
Yeah, I would not be surprised if Ukraine is either reacting to Hungary's political stance (although that would be quite harsh - war is politics by other means??) or is setting the stage to offer, in time, an end to strikes in exchange for concessions (which would be more face saving for Budapest).
As much as you or I might dislike Orban, you have to admit it's not likely that Budapest will concede to Kyiv on a high profile political issue in the face of, um, kinetic coercion. A less friendly observer would call it terrorism if you threaten destruction in exchange for pol. concessions.
On the other hand, first bombing the pipeline (superficially for reasons not related to Hungary) and then offering Budapest that one could adjust targeting in order to account for their situation, in exchange for reasonable political concessions, that gets you to the same place but less overtly.
Additionally it helps the case you want to make up Budapest, if they can see you really aren't bluffing about your ability to put Druzhba out of operation permanently, before you put the question to them.
I think, from googling, that Ukraine terminated Druzhba natural gas exports on Jan 1, 2025. Separate pipelines, natural gas and processed products, are used internally as well as for export. This strike allegedly affected internal diesel supply to its military, a very smart hit.
blowing up holding tanks make great video but these are the strategic hits that will cripple the facility and take time and hard to get sanctioned equipment and systems