Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday that the EU had passed on signals that Ukraine could soon restore oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, potentially as early as Monday.
The move could break a long-running stand-off between Budapest and Kyiv over the pipeline, which has seen Orbán block a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine in recent months.
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The Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary via Ukraine, has been non-operational since late January, when it was damaged by Russian strikes, according to Kyiv.
Hungary and Slovakia, the last EU countries still sourcing oil from Russia via the Soviet-era pipeline, have accused Ukraine of dragging its feet on repairs.
“Through Brussels, we have received an indication from Ukraine that they are ready to restore oil deliveries via the pipeline as early as Monday,” Orbán wrote on X.
He added that oil flows would unlock Hungary’s controversial blockade of the loan. “Once oil deliveries are restored, we will no longer stand in the way of approving the loan,” he said.
Hungary’s center-right Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar, who will take power in May, also said on Friday that Russian oil flows could resume next week.
See the original report from Emma Pirnay here.
