Oil from Russia bound for Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline — which runs through Belarus and Ukraine — began flowing again on Wednesday after a months-long interruption.
The stoppage had been a major source of tension between Ukraine and Hungary and Slovakia, and came amid higher energy prices driven by the war in Iran and the wider Middle East. Restarting supplies is expected to unlock a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine that Hungary and Slovakia had previously held up at an EU leaders’ summit because of the halt.
Hungary and Slovakia are exempt from EU sanctions on Russian oil imposed since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine because of their heavy dependence on Russian supplies.
Hungary’s oil group MOL said Ukrtransnafta, Ukraine’s pipeline operator, informed it that crude oil from Belarus had started arriving. “MOL expects the first crude oil shipments following the restart of the Ukrainian section of the pipeline system to arrive in Hungary and Slovakia by tomorrow at the latest,” the company said.
AFP cited an unnamed Ukrainian energy industry source saying “oil transit was launched and pumping began” shortly after midday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said a day earlier that flows would resume soon. Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova posted on Facebook that Bratislava anticipated the first Russian crude deliveries by Thursday.
Oil deliveries stopped in January after Ukraine said a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline and required lengthy repairs. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak PM Robert Fico questioned Ukraine’s account. In March both leaders refused to approve the EU’s multi-year €90 billion loan package for Kyiv, saying they would only back the funding once oil supplies resumed — a decision that needs unanimity among EU leaders.
EU diplomats met on Wednesday to finalize details for activating the financial assistance for Kyiv. Higher oil prices driven by the Iran war are boosting Russian export revenues, while Ukraine has increased attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
The Druzhba pipeline’s reactivation also coincides with an imminent change of government in Hungary. Longtime leader Orbán, who maintained comparatively close ties to Moscow during the war, lost in a landslide to Peter Magyar earlier this month. Magyar is due to take office next month, and it remains unclear how bilateral ties with Ukraine might change. Orbán has said he will not block the EU loan package once oil deliveries resume.
Edited by: Sean Sinico