Ukrainian Drones Blow Up Key Druzhba Oil Pipeline Website in Russia, Defying Budapest

[ad_1]

Kyiv responded to Budapest’s threats to block a €90 billion EU loan and lower off electrical energy to Ukraine till oil transit by means of Russia’s Druzhba pipeline resumes on Monday – by blowing up a vital part of the pipeline deep in Russia.

Within the early hours of Monday morning, Ukrainian long-range kamikaze drones pummeled the Kaleykino oil pumping station close to the city of Almetyevsk in Russia’s Tatarstan area, setting it ablaze and shutting down the operation of a vital transit node within the Druzhba pipeline system – the primary artery for Russian crude oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia.

JOIN US ON TELEGRAM Observe our protection of the conflict on the @Kyivpost_official .

The 35-plus plane strike bundle launched by operators from Ukraine’s Unmanned Techniques Forces (USF) flew by means of roughly 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) of Russian air area to attain a number of hits on pump strains and crude oil storage reservoirs on the Transneft-operated facility, and ignite fires which prompted black smoke to billow a whole lot of meters into the sky.

In a Monday morning assertion, Russia’s protection ministry acknowledged its forces had engaged “enemy drones” over the Tatarstan area within the pre-dawn and daybreak hours of Monday, and claimed it had shot 35 plane down. There was no official touch upon the harm or hits scored by the Ukrainian assault drones.

An article in regional newspaper RT-Respublika Tartarstan additionally acknowledged that Ukrainian drones had been engaged in air area over Almetyevsk, however reported that authorities had the state of affairs absolutely beneath management.

Different Subjects of Curiosity

2 Russian Security Personnel Were on Board France-Seized Tanker: Sources The 2 males had been employed by Moran Safety Group, a Russian non-public safety firm, and had been tasked with monitoring the crew and gathering intelligence.

“Within the Almetyevsk district of Tatarstan, cleanup efforts proceed following a drone assault. All vital emergency companies are deployed on the scene, in accordance with the Almetyevsk administration. We emphasize: there is no such thing as a risk to the general public. The state of affairs is beneath management,” an official assertion revealed by the newspaper mentioned.

Geolocated social media footage confirmed a horizon turned orange by hearth on the Kaleykino website. Substantial harm was confirmed by the unbiased Russian Astra information company, citing eyewitnesses.

Ukraine’s Common Workers took credit score for the assault in a Telegram publish, describing Kaleykino as one in all Russia’s “key oil pumping stations.”

“It's right here the method of blending oil from totally different areas takes place earlier than it's despatched for export. The station ensures vital stress and uninterrupted pumping of uncooked supplies instantly into the Druzhba oil pipeline, in addition to to the oil refineries of Tatarstan. Now we are able to count on the whining of [Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor] Orbán and [Slovak Prime Minister Robert] Fico,” the AFU assertion mentioned.

Russia’s Druzhba pipeline system, an oil transportation community constructed within the Soviet period to ship Russia’s communist crude oil to capitalist Europe in change for arduous money, originates in Tatarstan, the place it gathers crude oil from main producing areas resembling western Siberia, the Urals, and the Caspian Sea space.

By 2022, the Kaleykino pumping and storage facility had grow to be a vital bottleneck with about 100,000 tons of crude oil – roughly 1 / 4 of Russia’s annual oil exports – passing by means of it yearly.

Previous to Monday’s profitable raid, Ukrainian strike drones hit the Kaleykino facility on the Druzhba pipeline on Jan. 14 with unreported outcomes.

The strike on Kaleykino follows a string of profitable USF operations all through February. Two main oil refineries had been focused and broken, one within the near-Arctic metropolis Ukhta on Feb. 12 and one close to Krasnodar on Feb. 17.

The Neftogorsk gas-processing facility in Samara area was subsequently hit on Feb. 19, with NASA satellites observing fires nonetheless burning there two days later.

On Dec. 3, 2025, an explosion hit the Druzhba pipeline in Russia’s Tambov area in what Russian authorities later known as a sabotage assault linked with Kyiv operators. Russian oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary (and Slovakia) had been halted on Jan. 27, due to harm to the pipeline on Ukrainian territory, blamed by Ukrainian officers on a Russian drone purportedly destroying pipeline sections and tools in Ukraine’s Lviv area.

Hungary receives virtually all its crude oil imports – in accordance with power trade estimates, round 80-90% – from Russia through the Druzhba pipeline. Orbán has accused Ukraine of attacking Hungarian power safety due to his outspoken help of the Kremlin and opposition to Ukraine’s preventing a conflict to get better Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia.

In private social media feedback made by Orbán on Feb. 20-21, the Hungarian chief accused Ukraine of failing to restore the harm to the Lviv pump station to be able to forestall Russia from incomes cash from promoting crude oil to Hungary.

Orbán mentioned Budapest would retaliate by chopping off all electrical energy deliveries to Ukraine from Hungary, and vetoing a €90 billion EU conflict mortgage to Ukraine.

Hungarian International Minister Péter Szijjártó echoed this risk on X , accusing Kyiv each of breaching its commitments to the EU and of “blackmail.”

“Ukraine is blackmailing Hungary by halting oil transit in coordination with Brussels and the Hungarian opposition to create provide disruptions in Hungary and push gasoline costs greater earlier than the elections,” he added.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico adopted swimsuit. In a video deal with on Sunday, Fico mentioned Slovakia would block diesel gasoline and electrical energy from coming into Ukraine till Russian oil transit to Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline resumes.

On Feb. 18, Bratislava declared a state of emergency within the oil sector.

Each day attacked by Russia, Ukraine’s power grid is to a big extent depending on electrical energy imports from neighboring international locations.

In peacetime, Ukraine imported round 2.1 GW of electrical energy month-to-month from eastern-tier EU states on common, with Hungary sometimes offering 40-50% of the entire.

Harm from Russian missiles and drones, plus a comparatively chilly winter, pushed international electrical energy complete utilization by Ukraine in January 2026 to about 2.45 GW, Ukrainian state energy firm DTEK mentioned.

EU Excessive Consultant for International Affairs and Safety Coverage, Kaja Kallas, in Monday feedback to journalists in Brussels, mentioned that the EU would focus on the sanctions bundle on Russia and Hungary’s opposition to it, and that in her view, Druzhba oil deliveries to Hungary and EU sanctions on Russia usually are not linked.

“I believe there's not going to be progress relating to this right now, however we will certainly make this push,” Kallas mentioned. “As we've got heard some very robust statements from Hungary, that's the reason I do not likely see that they're going to change this sadly right now, this place that they've… We should always not tie collectively issues that aren't related to one another in any respect.”

Hungary’s subsequent parliamentary elections are scheduled for April 12, with frontrunner Péter Magyar and his center-right Tisza (Respect and Freedom) Celebration polling not less than eight factors forward of Orbán’s far-right populist Fidesz social gathering.

Magyar’s stance on the Russo-Ukrainian Warfare is strongly pro-Ukrainian, advocating larger navy help to Ukraine and extra sanctions in opposition to Russia.

[ad_2] Source link

Ukrainian Drones Blow Up Key Druzhba Oil Pipeline Website in Russia, Defying Budapest

Stephen Lillie on the fourth anniversary of the warfare in Ukraine – cartoon – The Guardian

IPC stands agency on Russian athletes competing amid boycott warnings

Safety Alert – Replace 4: Ongoing Safety Operations – U.S. Mission Mexico (February 23, 2026)

greater

Related Posts

Stephen Lillie on the fourth anniversary of the warfare in Ukraine – cartoon – The Guardian

IPC stands agency on Russian athletes competing amid boycott warnings

Safety Alert – Replace 4: Ongoing Safety Operations – U.S. Mission Mexico (February 23, 2026)

Jamie Woon and Blackpink: Musical comebacks of 2026 – arts24

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes: Jalisco cartel chief’s life involves violent finish after 4 a long time of crime

Hungary blocks EU Ukraine mortgage, Russia sanctions on eve of struggle anniversary

What are the Ship modifications in England more likely to price and what are the hurdles? | Particular academic wants

Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes: Jalisco cartel chief's life involves violent finish after 4 a long time of crime

Recommended Stories

Thailand strikes to chop sugar in standard drinks amid well being drive | Thailand

BREAKING: Trump’s New Government Order CONFIRMED — Dividend Checks Now Going to Newly Focused Teams

Supreme Courtroom strikes down Trump’s tariffs: What to know

Popular Stories

Ep. 192: SCOTUS Burns POTUS #trump #trumpnews #politics #trumpupdate #information

DOGE VS CREEPER | #coweef on #Twitch

Safety Alert – Replace 4: Ongoing Safety Operations – U.S. Mission Mexico (February 23, 2026)

MS NOW: Easy methods to Construct a Lasting Legacy 🇺🇸✨

Lindsey Vonn describes grueling surgical procedure on her shattered leg : NPR

Categories

Site Map

Recent Posts

Welcome Back!

Create New Account!

Retrieve your password

Add New Playlist

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?

Ukrainian Drones Blow Up Key Druzhba Oil Pipeline Website in Russia, Defying Budapest

RELATED POSTS

Support Greater and Subscribe to view content

Subscribe

Related Posts

Recommended Stories

Popular Stories

Categories

Site Map

Recent Posts

Welcome Back!

Create New Account!

Retrieve your password

Add New Playlist

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?