BUDAPEST — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accused Ukraine Wednesday of plotting to sabotage the country’s energy infrastructure, directing troops and gear to secure key sites amid a bitter row over halted Russian oil flows via the Druzhba pipeline.
In a Facebook video, Orban claimed intelligence pointed to Kyiv’s designs on Hungary’s power grid, insisting the Druzhba stoppage, depriving Hungary and Slovakia of refinery crude was politically motivated, not technical. Ukraine attributes the outage to a Russian drone strike on western Ukrainian pipeline gear; its foreign ministry had no immediate comment on Orban’s charges.
“I see that Ukraine is preparing further actions to disrupt the operation of the Hungarian energy system,” Orban declared. “Therefore, I have ordered the reinforcement of protection for critical energy infrastructure… deploying soldiers and equipment to repel attacks near key facilities.
“The move intensifies tensions with Kyiv, as Budapest and Bratislava, Moscow-friendly holdouts, clash with EU allies over arming Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. Hungary upheld its veto Monday on fresh EU Russia sanctions and a major Ukraine aid loan, linking it to the oil dispute. Orban frames the April 12 election as “war or peace,” warning rivals would plunge Hungary into the neighboring conflict.