The investigation into what caused the Oct. 20 explosion at Hungarian energy companyMol’s Százhalombatta oil refinery is still ongoing. The detonation occurred in the AV3 plant of the Danube Refinery, and the flames were localized in time. Locals reported an explosion and heavy smoke.
During last week’s Hungarian Government Info Session, cabinet minister Gergely Gulyás told press that a thorough investigation is ongoing to discover any foul play following an explosion at a key Hungarian oil refinery. He also noted that Poland’s own foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, had advised the Ukrainians to blow up the Friendship oil pipeline, writes Mandiner.
Poland has, meanwhile, also refused to extradite to Germany one of the suspects linked to the 2022 explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline, Gulyás said, further criticizing Sikorski for making light of the consequences of any attacks on energy infrastructure.
A recent article in The American Conservative also points out further connections, including that “on the same day as the Százhalombatta explosion, a mysterious explosion occurred at the Petrotel-Lukoil refinery in Romania. Both facilities process Russian crude oil, while the Romanian refinery is a subsidiary of Lukoil, which has been hit with sanctions by U.S. President Trump’s administration.”
Rumors quickly circulated that foreign interference could be involved.
On the same day as these explosions, the Council of the EU agreed to a phase-out of Russian energy purchases, which will result in a full ban in 2028. However, this has been in the works for a while.
Hungary and Slovakia have been very vocal about the severe consequences this would cause to their economies, including hardship for citizens due to higher heating bills.
Mandiner also cites American Conservative, which states that “Ukraine is the likely source of the attacks. There is also suspicion that Ukraine could not have carried out the actions without American, British or European assistance.”
The newspaper also notes that the Western media did not attach much importance to the explosions that occurred at about the same time, but that Russia has no interest in causing harm to its customers.
