Hungary views energy strikes as sovereignty threat: Szijjarto
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Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto condemns attacks on energy infrastructure supplying Russian resources to Hungary, calling them a direct threat to the country’s sovereignty.
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Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto listens to his Serbian counterpart Marko Djuric during a press conference in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Hungary views any strikes on energy infrastructure supplying Russian resources as an attack on its sovereignty, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations Peter Szijjarto said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"The energy security is a matter of sovereignty, and we do consider any kind of attack on our energy infrastructure as if it was an attack against our sovereignty. Therefore, we reject all such kind of attacks," Szijjarto stated.
The minister highlighted recent incidents involving Ukrainian strikes on the Druzhba pipeline and its related infrastructure, saying, "That was an issue in the recent weeks and months — that the Ukrainians have attacked the Druzhba pipeline and its connecting infrastructure, as an outcome of which on a couple of occasions we had disruptions in the oil deliveries, even for entire days."
He also welcomed a recent agreement between Russia and Ukraine to refrain from targeting energy facilities, emphasizing that it includes infrastructure used for transporting Russian oil and gas to Hungary.
A flashback
The agreement followed a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump on March 18. According to the Kremlin, Trump proposed a 30-day mutual halt to strikes on energy infrastructure, a move that Putin supported.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later stated that Kiev would also comply. However, the following day, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine had carried out a drone strike on an oil depot in Kuban.
On Friday, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of targeting the Sudzha gas metering station with HIMARS missiles at around 10:20 Moscow time (07:20 GMT), resulting in a major fire that effectively destroyed the facility.
Russian forces advance in Donetsk, almost at Pokrovsk
Russian forces are engaged in heavy battles near the city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), while Ukrainian troops continue their counterattacks, DPR head Denis Pushilin told RIA Novosti on Saturday.
"The battles are underway in the vicinity of Krasnoarmeysk itself, already in the direction of [the village of] Kotlyne," Pushilin said.
He noted that Ukrainian forces are attempting to launch counterattacks in this direction, as well as near Dzerzhinsk.
Krasnoarmeysk serves as a key railway hub, linking Donetsk with the Dnepropetrovsk region and providing connections to Ukrainian-controlled cities in the northwest of the DPR.
Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry announced on Saturday the capture of two additional villages in Ukraine: Shchebraki in the Zaporizhzhia region and Panteleimonivka in Donetsk.
