Ukraine says Druzhba pipeline running Russian oil to Europe can resume work

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said a pipeline carrying Russian oil to Europe is ready to resume operations after being damaged during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy said on Tuesday he expected the completed “repair work” on the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline running through his country would lead to the release of a much-needed 90-million-euro ($106m) European Union loan hitherto blocked by Hungary, which depends on the Russian oil.

Ukraine says the pipeline was damaged late in January by Russian attacks, but Hungary and Slovakia, which also remain dependent on Russian oil since the start of the war more than four years ago, have accused Kyiv of dragging its feet over the repairs.

“The pipeline can resume operation,” said Zelenskyy. “We connect this with the unblocking of the European support package for Ukraine, which had already been approved by the European Council.”

Hopes have been raised that Hungary will now lift its veto on the loan, both as a result of the pipeline’s opening, but also because Kremlin-friendly Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is on his way out after losing recent elections.

Later on Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she expected a “positive decision” on the loan in the next 24 hours. EU ambassadors are expected to give the final greenlight to release the blocked loan for Ukraine when they meet on Wednesday.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU banned seaborne imports of Russian oil but kept land flows legal.

Zelenskyy said on X that he had discussed the unblocking of the loan with European Council President Antonio Costa. “Ukraine has fulfilled what the European Union asked of us,” he said, referring to both Hungary and Slovakia’s demands that the pipeline be reopened.

For its part, the Kremlin said on Tuesday Russia was technically ready to resume oil flows through the Druzhba ‌pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia if and when Ukraine ended what Moscow called its “blackmail”.

Ukraine needs the EU funds to plug looming holes in its budget, but has managed to secure enough money from other backers in the meantime, while Hungary has stalled the loan.

In parallel, Ukrainian drones struck an oil-pumping and dispatch facility in Russia’s Samara region overnight, an official from Ukraine’s SBU security service said on Tuesday.