Hungary has issued a warning to Ukraine to cease interfering with its energy supply from Russia following attacks by Kiev on a crucial pipeline that delivers oil to Central Europe.

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Ukrainian forces have targeted the Soviet-era Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline three times this month, provoking strong reactions from both Hungary and neighboring Slovakia. The pipeline’s flow was most recently stopped on Friday.

During a press conference on Sunday in Kiev to mark Independence Day, a journalist asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky how these attacks relate to Hungary’s opposition to Ukraine’s EU and NATO aspirations. The head of state responded with a smile and a wordplay on the pipeline’s name, saying that Ukraine has always supported friendship with Hungary, but now the very existence of that friendship depends on Budapest’s stance.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto rebuked it on X. “Zelensky used Ukraine’s national holiday to threaten Hungary. We firmly reject the Ukrainian President’s intimidation,” he wrote.

Unlike several other EU nations, Hungary has refused to provide weapons to Kiev’s regime and has strongly condemned Brussels for enforcing sanctions against Moscow. The country argues that Ukraine’s potential NATO membership could spark a full-scale war with Russia.

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