Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has condemned a recent Ukrainian drone attack on a compressor station of the TurkStream gas pipeline, describing it as a direct threat to Hungary’s sovereignty due to the pipeline’s role in ensuring the country’s energy security, reports RT.
Szijjarto’s remarks came on Saturday, following Russia’s report that its military had intercepted a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russkaya compressor station in Russia’s Krasnodar Region on Friday night. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that three drones were neutralized by air defense systems, preventing any damage to the facility, which serves as the departure point for Russian gas deliveries via TurkStream.
“The Turkish Stream pipeline is the guarantee of Hungary’s natural gas supply security; therefore, any potential disruption would seriously jeopardize our energy security,” Szijjarto wrote on Facebook. “Energy security is a matter of sovereignty, and therefore this type of attack should be considered an attack on sovereignty.”
The TurkStream pipeline has been operational since January 2020, supplying Russian natural gas to Turkey and several European countries, including Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Greece.
Szijjarto also urged the European Commission to clarify its position, recalling its recent assurances that Ukraine would not target EU-bound energy infrastructure.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated that Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed Szijjarto about the attempted attack in a phone conversation initiated by Hungary. Lavrov outlined the incident and its implications for the pipeline’s security.
This was not the first attempted strike on the facility. In January, Ukrainian forces allegedly launched nine kamikaze drones at the same station. While Russian air defenses intercepted all UAVs, debris from the explosions caused minor damage.
At the time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of “energy terrorism,” warning of escalating threats to critical infrastructure.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
