In his note, Orbán wrote that “just before the historic meeting between President Trump and [Russian President Vladimir] Putin in Alaska,” Ukraine carried out drone strikes on the Druzhba oil pipeline in Russian territory.
The pipeline, which was restored by Aug. 19, was hit again two days later.
Notably, both strikes were carried out by the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine, led by Commander Robert Brovdi, who is also commonly known by his call sign “Madyar,” referring to his Hungarian ethnicity.
Brovdi announced his second strike on Telegram with the Hungarian battle cry, “Ruszkik haza!” The phrase means “Russians go home” — a reference to the slogan of Hungarian freedom fighters who confronted the Soviet army in 1956.
Orbán — who has maintained close ties with the Kremlin even after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — did not take the message well.
Viktor Orbán did not take the message well. | Olivier Hoslet/EPA
“Hungary supports Ukraine with electricity and petrol, in return they bomb pipeline that supply us. Very unfriendly move,” he wrote in his missive to Trump.