The European Union is exploring the possibility of providing Ukraine with financial assistance to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline. The move comes as Hungary and Slovakia continue to block vital support for Kyiv and sanctions against Russia until crude oil shipments through the pipeline resume.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, the European Commission may allocate funds through Ukraine's budget support program. Additionally, the EU is prepared to offer technical expertise to facilitate the process. As reported by Hvylya, restoration of the damaged section is estimated to take between one and one-and-a-half months.
However, President Volodymyr Zelensky remains skeptical of resuming transit, noting that such exports help finance Russia's war machine. "To be honest, I would not restore it. This is my position, and I have shared it with European leaders. This is Russian oil," Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv on Thursday.
The facility was targeted by a Russian attack in January, which ignited a reservoir fire that took ten days to extinguish. The strike damaged critical equipment, power cables, transformers, and leak detection systems. Serhiy Koretsky, CEO of Naftogaz, argued that repairing the site makes little sense from a security perspective, as Russia could simply strike it again.
Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of intentionally withholding oil supplies and have questioned the extent of the damage, while failing to acknowledge the January Russian attack. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed to block 90 billion euros in EU loans and other essential support for Kyiv until flows are restored.
"We do not have the military power for this, everyone can be calm, it is not in our plans. But we have political and financial means, and we will use them for pressure," Orban stated, promising to "force" Ukraine to resume transit.
This escalation occurs amid unprecedented tension in bilateral relations. On March 5, Hungarian security forces detained two armored cash-in-transit vehicles belonging to the state-owned Oschadbank. The vehicles were transporting foreign currency and gold from Austria to Ukraine, and seven Ukrainian employees were reportedly taken into custody.
Zelensky acknowledged that Ukraine might be compelled to repair and restart the pipeline if EU authorities cannot find another way to bypass Hungary's veto on the loans. "We will prepare everything, and the decision will depend on the EU countries," the president added.
Since the start of the full-scale war, the Druzhba facility has been struck nearly twenty times. Previous repair efforts often took place under Russian shelling, endangering workers. The European Commission is currently in talks with Kyiv regarding a potential fact-finding mission to verify the extent of the damage at the site.