Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Druzhba pipeline, a key route for Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, would be operational by the end of April, during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday, 13 April.
Zelenskyy added that he expects Hungary to lift its veto on the €90 billion EU loan to Kyiv, signalling that a precondition for the restart of Druzhba is the unblocking of financial support. The Ukrainian president also said that the pipeline would not be fully repaired, but ‘enough for it to be operational’.
Transit through Druzhba has been halted since 27 January, after a Russian drone strike hit the infrastructure. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Kyiv of not restarting the flow in order to put pressure on his government, which at the time was preparing for its toughest election, held on 12 April.
‘Zelenskyy added that he expects Hungary to lift its veto on the €90 billion EU loan to Kyiv’
In response, Orbán withdrew his support for the loan, which had previously been agreed with an opt-out for Budapest in December 2025. Zelenskyy repeatedly stated that there was no political will in Kyiv to resume transit through Druzhba, while Orbán accused Ukraine of supporting his opposition, the Tisza Party led by Péter Magyar, in order to remove him from power.
Tisza secured a landslide victory on Sunday, winning a supermajority in the 199-seat parliament and ending Orbán’s 16-year rule. Prime Minister-elect Magyar said on Monday that he would lift Hungary’s veto on the loan, while maintaining the opt-out agreed by Orbán in December.
Kyiv welcomed the victory of Tisza, with Zelenskyy congratulating Magyar and expressing hope for ‘pragmatic and friendly’ relations with the new government. ‘The elections, when the Hungarian people made their choice, were on Sunday, 12 April. In Ukraine, we celebrated Easter on that day, the victory of light over darkness,’ he said, adding that it is ‘very symbolic’.
Congratulations to @magyarpeterMP and the TISZA party on their resounding victory. It is important when constructive approach prevails.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 12, 2026
Ukraine has always sought good-neighbourly relations with everyone in Europe and we are ready to advance our cooperation with Hungary.…
Relations between Hungary and Ukraine reached a historic low in the final months of the Orbán government. Senior officials, including the prime minister, accused Ukrainian intelligence services of operating in Hungary and attempting to interfere in the election on the side of Tisza. Kyiv and the Hungarian opposition rejected these claims, accusing Orbán of cooperating with Russian intelligence to remain in power.
Druzhba became a key issue during the campaign, with Orbán accusing Ukraine of imposing an oil blockade on Hungary. Budapest and Bratislava appealed to the European Commission over the suspension of supplies, arguing that it threatened the energy security of member states. Brussels, after weeks of hesitation, sent an expert group to investigate the pipeline; however, according to reports, the delegation has since gone missing and its whereabouts remain unknown.
Ukrainian outlet delo.ua reported at the beginning of April that the reconstruction process could last about 20 months, with tender applications starting on 6 April. Zelenskyy’s announcement, therefore, signals that there may indeed be a form of political pressure, as Orbán repeatedly argued during the campaign.
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