Orban Deploys Troops To Guard Energy Sites After Accusing Ukraine Of Sabotage

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Wednesday again accused Ukraine of plotting to sabotage Hungary’s energy infrastructure, following a Ukrainian drone attack on a key Transneft oil pumping station in the Russian republic of Tatarstan early Monday, which was further detrimental to the Druzhba oil pipeline.

But Orban has now upped the ante, sending a powerful message to Ukraine and its EU backers, having newly ordered troops to protect key energy sites. He has also been denouncing “blackmail” over Hungary’s Russian energy purchases and dependency, vowing “we will not give in”.

“I have heard the briefings of the national security services and see that Ukraine is preparing further actions aimed at disrupting the operation of Hungary’s energy system,” Orbán stated in a video posted on X.

He then issued the following: “I have ordered the strengthening of the protection of critical energy infrastructure,” before articulating, “This means that soldiers and the equipment necessary to repel potential attacks will be deployed near key energy facilities.”

Politico has further detailed some the aspects of what this will look like, based on the Hungarian leader’s words:

Additional police will patrol designated power plants, distribution stations and control centers, Orbán said. A flight ban has also been imposed in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county in northeastern Hungary on the border with Ukraine.

The accusation adds fuel to a conflict Orbán has stoked with neighboring Ukraine as well as Brussels ahead of an April 12 parliamentary election in which he faces the prospect of defeat.

Slovakia has also leveled similar charges against Kiev of late, as the damaged Druzhba pipeline is also among its own key transit hubs of vital Russian oil.

The reality is that Ukrainian media and officials have positively boasted of recent actions which harm the two EU members Hungary and Slovakia.

For example, one Ukrainian official on Monday described, ”Tonight, long-range SBU drones caused a ‘bavovna’ (explosion) at the main oil pumping station ‘Kaleykino’ near Almetyevsk in Tatarstan. It receives oil from Western Siberia and the Volga region and mixes it before sending it for export. The station is a key hub for supplying raw materials to the ‘Druzhba’ oil pipeline.”

Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia via Druzhba were first halted after a Jan. 27 airstrike on equipment in western Ukraine.

We will not give in to blackmail

I have ordered increased security for critical energy infrastructure.

The Ukrainian government is exerting pressure on the Hungarian and Slovak governments through an oil blockade. They will not stop there, as they are preparing further… pic.twitter.com/bulICvhy1m

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) February 25, 2026

Ukraine blamed the attack on Moscow, while Hungary is blaming Kiev for deliberately not repairing the pipeline because it doesn’t want it to supply Budapest, or Slovakia, with Russian oil. A political firestorm has ensued ever since.

The controversy led the Orban government to early this week block the EU’s proposed €90 billion loan package for Ukraine and also it vetoed the 20th round of anti-Moscow sanctions. This has in turn infuriated EU leadership.