Following the announcement earlier this week by Prime Minister Victor Orban that Hungary will take military measures to protect its energy infrastructure from possible Ukrainian attack, Hungary’s defense minister announced the deployment of military helicopters to protect sites, TASS reported.
“Helicopter crews in the eastern regions of the country were doubled. Their mission is to repel attacks by aerial vehicles that may enter Hungary’s airspace, moving too slowly or too low to be eliminated by on-duty air defenses,” Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. In addition he said electronic warfare equipment will also be deployed at energy infrastructure sites. Troops will be deployed at some 20 energy sites by Feb. 27.
Meanwhile Orban strongly disputed Ukraine’s claim that oil cannot be transported to Hungary because of “technical” problems with the Druzhba pipeline. Orban charges that Ukraine is, in fact, putting not only Hungary but also Slovakia under a de facto oil blockade.
Calling for establishing a joint commission with Slovakia to travel to Ukraine to inspect the pipeline, Orban told Hungarian TV: “The Druzhba pipeline is blocked by [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy and Ukraine. This is dangerous not only for Hungary but also for Slovakia.… Therefore, Robert Fico and I advocate the creation of a joint investigative commission. The commission’s task is to go to the scene and see the situation firsthand. Therefore, I call on Mr. Zelenskyy to allow this investigative commission to arrive and ensure the necessary conditions for its work,” Orban stated.
