Ukraine Resumes Flow of Russian Oil to EU

(MENAFN) Hungarian energy giant MOL confirmed on Wednesday that Russian crude has begun flowing through the Druzhba pipeline to the European Union once more, ending a near three-month suspension that had strained relations between Kyiv, Budapest, and Bratislava.

MOL said in a statement that Ukrainian pipeline operator JSC Ukrtransnafta notified the company that Ukraine began receiving crude from Belarus through the Druzhba system at noon on Wednesday. The first shipments of Russian oil are expected to reach Hungary and Slovakia by Thursday "at the latest," MOL added.

Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova confirmed in a Facebook post that Bratislava had also been contacted by Ukrtransnafta, with crude expected to resume flowing into Slovakia on Thursday morning.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced on social media on Tuesday that pipeline repairs had been completed and that the infrastructure was ready to return to full operations.
A Politically Charged Stoppage
Kyiv had halted supplies to Hungary and Slovakia in late January, attributing the shutdown to damage caused by Russian strikes on the pipeline. Moscow flatly rejected the accusations, dismissing them as "lies."

The resumption arrives at a politically loaded moment — less than two weeks after Hungary's parliamentary election, in which the pro-EU Tisza party led by Peter Magyar dealt a historic defeat to the ruling Fidesz party of longtime Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Throughout the campaign, Orban's government repeatedly accused Kyiv of meddling in the vote, insisting that Zelensky had deliberately throttled oil deliveries to stoke domestic tensions ahead of election day.

Both Budapest and Bratislava had also argued that Kyiv's refusal to permit EU inspectors to examine the Druzhba pipeline was itself evidence that Ukraine had not been transparent about the true state of the infrastructure.

Landlocked Hungary and neighboring Slovakia are among the most energy-dependent nations in Central Europe, with both countries heavily reliant on Russian crude for their energy needs.

Vetoes, Threats, and Diplomatic Fallout
The pipeline dispute had rippled far beyond energy policy. In recent months, Hungary vetoed the EU's proposed €90 billion ($105 billion) emergency loan package for Ukraine, directly linking its opposition to Kyiv's blockage of Druzhba supplies.

The standoff escalated sharply when Zelensky issued a pointed warning to Orban last month, stating he would pass "the address of this person to our armed forces" so they could "speak to him in their own language." The outgoing Hungarian prime minister fired back, asserting that "threats to his life" would not deter him from continuing to push for the lifting of Kyiv's "oil blockade."

Magyar, following his election victory, indicated he would not veto EU funds for Ukraine — though he clarified that Budapest would refrain from participating in the loan package due to domestic financial constraints. Earlier this week, he urged Kyiv to reopen the pipeline, warning that Hungary would not accept "any kind of blackmail" over energy supplies.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico had also threatened to veto further EU sanctions against Russia and oppose Ukraine's accelerated bid for EU membership if Kyiv failed to restart pipeline flows.

Moscow Maintains It Bore No Blame
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated on Tuesday that Ukraine bore sole responsibility for the supply disruption. Russia, he said, remains committed to honoring its contractual obligations to Hungary and stands ready to continue delivering oil to the country.

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