Ukraine denied European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa access to the Druzhba pipeline during their visit to Kyiv on 24 February, according to EU diplomats cited by Financial Times.
The recently published article states that von der Leyen and Costa specifically asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow them to visit the pipeline in order to independently assess the damage allegedly caused by a Russian strike on 27 January. However, according to five EU diplomats, their request was denied.
According to the report, Ukraine is currently under pressure from several pro-Ukraine EU governments and from the European Commission to permit such a visit in order to demonstrate that Kyiv is genuinely working to restore oil flows—despite Zelenskyy admitting on Monday that Ukraine does not intend to resume transit.
Hungary and Slovakia, which import a significant share of their energy needs through Druzhba, maintain that the pipeline remains fully operational, accusing Ukraine of deliberately halting supplies, primarily to create instability just weeks before Hungary’s parliamentary election. On Monday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán presented satellite imagery that he said confirms the pipeline is operational and once again called on Zelenskyy to resume transit.
In response to Ukraine’s blockade, Orbán announced that he would block the EUR 90 billion military loan to Kyiv until supplies are restored, while both countries halted diesel exports to Ukraine. Budapest also blocked the 20th sanctions package against Russia, and Slovakia suspended electricity exports to Kyiv.
One EU diplomat speaking to Financial Times said Kyiv ‘had scored an own goal’ by giving Hungary an excuse to block the loan. ‘We cannot say if there is damage or not. There are very easy ways to document it and show they are working hard to repair it. They haven’t done it,’ the diplomat said.
A senior Ukrainian official close to Zelenskyy rejected suggestions that Kyiv was deliberately delaying repairs, stating that technicians from Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz had provided European counterparts with evidence that Druzhba had been severely damaged.
Chief Executive of Naftogaz Sergii Koretskyi told the FT that the Russian strike caused a storage tank holding 75,000 cubic metres of oil to catch fire, ‘which took 10 days to extinguish.’ Given the scale of the damage, he said, ‘a full assessment takes time and is expected soon.’
However, speaking to the FT on Monday, Zelenskyy reiterated his position, stating that he was not ‘inclined to ease the situation for his Hungarian counterpart,’ effectively doubling down on his intention not to resume oil transit. On Tuesday, Orbán sent an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen urging the Commission to enforce the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement, which obliges Ukraine to allow oil shipments to Hungary.
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