The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, has condemned the recent drone attack on a compressor station of the TurkStream gas pipeline, labeling it an attack on the country’s sovereignty. The minister stated that the pipeline is of crucial importance for Hungary’s energy security.
The attack, which was reported by the Russian military, occurred on Friday evening, when a Ukrainian drone struck the Russkaya compressor station in the Russian region of Krasnodar. The station is a key facility for the TurkStream pipeline, serving as a starting point for gas deliveries on Russian soil. According to the Defense Ministry, three drones were neutralized by air defense systems, without disrupting the station’s operation.
Szijjártó wrote on Facebook, “The Turkish Stream pipeline is the guarantor of Hungary’s gas security; therefore, any possible disruption would seriously jeopardize our energy security. Energy security is a question of sovereignty and this type of attack should be considered an attack on sovereignty.”
The pipeline, which has been in operation since January 2020, delivers Russian natural gas to Turkish customers and several European countries, including Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece.
The Hungarian minister also called on the European Commission to clarify its stance on the matter and reminded it of its recent assurance that Ukraine would not attack EU-related infrastructure.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov informed Szijjártó of the incident during a phone conversation initiated by Hungary, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
This is not the first incident to affect the facility. In January, Ukrainian forces reportedly attempted to attack the pipeline with nine kamikaze drones, but all were intercepted and the debris from the explosions caused minor damage to the station. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitri Peskov accused Ukraine of “energy terrorism” at the time.