Ukraine’s Zelenskyy Condemns Hungary For Banning Ukrainian Commander After Pipeline Strikes

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday condemned Hungary’s decision to ban a senior Ukrainian officer who led strikes on Russia’s Druzhba oil pipeline, calling it an outrageous attempt to shift blame for the war onto Ukraine.

“At a time when our people are grappling with the consequences of one of the largest-scale Russian terrorist attacks, we see yet another attempt by the Hungarian government to portray black as white and to shift the responsibility for the ongoing war onto Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media platform X.

The move came after Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced that Robert Brovdi, call sign “Magyar,” would be barred from entering Hungary and the entire Schengen zone, the free travel area within Europe. Brovdi, an ethnic Hungarian and Ukrainian citizen, heads Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces and oversaw recent attacks on the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies more than half of Hungary’s oil imports.

Szijjártó argued Ukraine knew the pipeline was “vital for Hungary’s and Slovakia’s energy supply” and warned that anyone striking Hungary’s energy security “must expect consequences.”

Kyiv swiftly denounced the step. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha accused Hungary of “moral decay,” saying it valued Russian oil above Ukrainian lives, after missile strikes killed at least 17 civilians, including four children, in Kyiv the same day. He vowed “mirror action” in response.

Brovdi himself reacted harshly, telling Szijjártó to “shove your sanctions and travel restrictions on visiting Hungary up your a..s,” while warning that Hungarians would one day “have had enough of you.”

The European Commission said oil supply security had not been affected due to stockpiled reserves but added that “critical infrastructure should be protected by all parties.”

Relations between Budapest and Kyiv have plunged to new lows, with Hungary resisting Ukraine’s EU bid while continuing to buy Russian oil and gas, a key source of revenue for Moscow’s war effort.

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