Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday that repair work on the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline is complete and oil can begin flowing again through Ukrainian territory to Hungary and Slovakia. The pipeline was damaged in late January during Russian attacks, halting flows that both countries depend on.
"The pipeline can resume operation," Zelenskyy said. He tied the announcement explicitly to the release of a 90-million-euro European Union loan that Hungary had blocked. "Ukraine has fulfilled what the European Union asked of us," he wrote on X, citing demands from both Budapest and Bratislava that the pipeline be reopened.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Tuesday she expected a "positive decision" on the loan within 24 hours. EU ambassadors are scheduled to meet Wednesday to give the final greenlight.
Hungary's ability to block the loan may also be weakening for political reasons. Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is close to the Kremlin and had resisted pressure over the pipeline, lost recent elections and is on his way out of office.
Russia said Tuesday it was technically ready to resume oil shipments once Ukraine ended what Moscow called its "blackmail." The same night, Ukrainian drones struck an oil-pumping facility in Russia's Samara region, which is part of the Druzhba pipeline supply chain.
