Crude oil bound for Hungary and Slovakia resumed flowing through the Druzhba pipeline on Wednesday after a months-long interruption. The pipeline runs through Belarus and Ukraine; transit had halted in January following what Ukraine described as damage from a Russian drone strike that required lengthy repairs.
The stoppage had become a flashpoint between Kyiv and the two EU member states, complicating broader EU decisions. Hungary and Slovakia are exempt from EU sanctions on Russian oil because of their heavy reliance on Russian supplies, and both countries had linked their approval of a multi-year €90 billion EU loan package for Ukraine to the resumption of Druzhba deliveries. In March, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico withheld support for the loan, saying they would only back the funding once oil shipments restarted — a decision that requires unanimity among EU leaders.
Hungary’s oil company MOL said it had been told by Ukrtransnafta, Ukraine’s pipeline operator, that crude from Belarus had started arriving. MOL added that it expected the first shipments to reach Hungary and Slovakia by Thursday at the latest. An unnamed Ukrainian energy industry source told AFP that “oil transit was launched and pumping began” shortly after midday. Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova posted on Facebook that Bratislava anticipated the first deliveries by Thursday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said a day earlier that flows would resume soon.
EU diplomats met on Wednesday to finalize details for activating the financial assistance to Kyiv. The timing matters as higher oil prices driven by the war in Iran and broader Middle East tensions have been increasing revenue for Russian exports, even as Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
The pipeline restart also coincides with an imminent change of government in Hungary. Longtime leader Viktor Orbán, who had maintained comparatively close ties with Moscow during the war, was defeated in a landslide by Peter Magyar earlier this month. Magyar is due to take office next month, and it remains unclear how Hungarian-Ukrainian relations will evolve under the new government. Orbán has said he will not block the EU loan package now that oil deliveries have resumed.
The resumption of Druzhba flows is expected to ease the immediate political block on the EU loan and reduce a key source of tension between Kyiv and two member states heavily dependent on Russian oil. Observers say the development may also alter the diplomatic dynamics around sanctions, energy security and funding for Ukraine during an already volatile period in global energy markets.