Hungary has imposed a sweeping travel ban on the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, identified as Robert Brovdi (callsign “Magyar”), following a string of drone strikes that disrupted supply through the vital Druzhba (Friendship) oil pipeline. Brovdi will be barred from entering Hungary and the entire Schengen Area for several years, a measure officially announced by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who labeled the attacks a direct assault on Hungary’s sovereignty and energy security.
The decision comes in the wake of at least three incidents targeting the Unecha pumping station in Russia, critical to the Druzhba pipeline’s operation which led to supply halts affecting both Hungary and Slovakia. Brovdi had publicly acknowledged the operation via a video on his Telegram channel, celebrating the explosions and adding, in Hungarian, “Russians go home.”
Szijjártó emphasized that without the Druzhba pipeline, Hungary’s crude oil supply is compromised, and recent pipeline damage nearly forced his country to tap into strategic reserves. He warned that such sabotage cannot go unpunished.
The move sparked a furious reaction from Ukraine. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha denounced Hungary’s action as a moral farce, stating, “If the Russian pipeline is more important to you than the Ukrainian children killed by Russia this morning, this is moral decay. Hungary is on the wrong side of history,” and hinted at reciprocal measures.
While Hungary’s ban targets Brovdi personally, it also underscores a growing diplomatic rift: Budapest appears increasingly unwilling to tolerate cross-border military actions even when they are conducted inside Russian territory and aimed at weakening Moscow’s war infrastructure.
