Friendship pipeline stoppage: more ominous news about Hungary's oil supply
There is growing uncertainty about when Hungary's oil supply from Ukraine will resume. Although the Slovak network operator claims that oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline could resume as early as Thursday, 26 February,
sources at the Ukrainian newspaper Delo.ua state that the Ukrainian authorities have not yet set a deadline for completing the necessary repairs.
According to a report cited by Reuters, the Slovak Ministry of Economy announced that Transpetrol had received notification from Kyiv that the restart scheduled for Wednesday, 25 February — which was announced on Monday — would be postponed again.
As we have reported on several occasions, the disruption was caused by a Russian drone attack on 27 January, which damaged the technological and auxiliary equipment of the pipeline section in western Ukraine. During the subsequent repair period, Ukraine offered alternative transit routes to its European partners, including Hungary and Slovakia. These countries claim that Ukraine did not restart transit on the Druzhba pipeline for political reasons. The authorities in Kyiv, meanwhile, claim that they have not yet finished the repair work, which is why there is still no flow through the pipeline.
During a press briefing in Kyiv to mark the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion, European Commission representatives confirmed that Russia was responsible for the damage to the pipeline. They also indicated that Ukraine was cooperating with the repairs.
However, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged Kyiv to accelerate the repair work.
During the debate, the prime ministers of Slovakia and Hungary, Robert Fico and Viktor Orbán respectively, announced that they would halt diesel exports to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Bratislava suspended emergency electricity assistance to Ukraine with effect from 23 February, as oil deliveries had not resumed. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry described this as energy blackmail, stating that demands regarding the resumption of transit should be addressed to Moscow, not Kyiv.
Cover photo: EU
