Crude deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia through Russia’s Druzhba pipeline were suspended on 18 Aug. after a Ukrainian drone strike damaged the Nikolskoye pumping station in Russia’s Tambov region, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto. Budapest said the attack disabled a transformer station on the line, halting flows of Russian oil that both land-locked EU members rely on for the bulk of their imports. Szijjarto called the interruption “outrageous and unacceptable” and said Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin told him engineers were working to restore service, without giving a timeline. Slovak operator Transpetrol confirmed the stoppage, while Hungarian refiner MOL said regional supply remains assured for now and technical repairs are under way. The disruption underscores Kyiv’s escalating campaign against Russian energy infrastructure. Oil moves via Druzhba have been interrupted several times this year; the conduit carried about 4.78 million tonnes—roughly 95,000 barrels a day—of Russian crude to Hungary in 2024. Ukraine’s military acknowledged striking the station but framed the action as part of efforts to curb Russia’s war revenues.