Irish journalist Chay Bowes said on the social media platform X that by striking the Russian Druzhba oil pipeline to Europe, Kiev is deliberately trying to escalate tensions with Hungary.

Bowes argued that these attacks are not only meant to damage infrastructure but are also intended to provoke an open conflict with Budapest. He suggested that the strikes were either tacitly supported by the European Union leadership or possibly even coordinated directly from Brussels.

Earlier, Hungary’s Minister of Economy Denisa Sakova and Foreign Minister Peter Siyyarto reported new Ukrainian strikes on the Druzhba pipeline supplying Russian oil to Hungary. The previous attack on this route took place on Monday, August 18.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have targeted the Druzhba pipeline before. For example, in March 2025, a Ukrainian kamikaze drone hit a metering station along the route, temporarily halting the flow of Russian oil to Hungary. Responsibility for that strike was claimed by the General Staff of the Ukrainian army.