KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has completed repairs on a damaged oil pipeline and is preparing to resume flows, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday, while warning that there is no guarantee Russia will not target the infrastructure again.
Repairs to the Druzhba pipeline became a contentious issue, delaying approval of a major 90 billion euro ($106 billion) EU loan intended to support Ukraine’s military and economic needs over the next two years. Zelenskyy said repairing the pipeline was linked to freeing the funds, which had been blocked by Hungary and Slovakia.
But top EU officials are now cautiously optimistic that the massive loan scheme might be approved as soon as Wednesday, ending months of political deadlock.
“Ukraine has completed repair work on the section of the Druzhba oil pipeline that was damaged by a Russian strike. The pipeline can resume operation,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X. “Although no one can currently guarantee that Russia will not repeat attacks on the pipeline infrastructure, our specialists have ensured the basic conditions for restoring the operation of the pipeline system and equipment.”
“We connect this with the unblocking of the European support package for Ukraine, which had already been approved by the European Council,” he added.
Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia have been halted for two months after what Ukrainian officials say were Russian drone attacks that damaged the pipeline, which crosses Ukrainian territory, and that continuous strikes risk the lives of technicians trying to repair it.
The war in Ukraine that began in February 2022 with Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed thousands, forced millions to flee their homes and turned cities into rubble.
Before being unseated by centrist challenger Péter Magyar, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had threatened to cut gas supplies to Ukraine. Both Hungary and Slovakia accused Kyiv of deliberately obstructing Russian deliveries.
Zelenskyy said earlier this month he is reluctant to allow Russian oil to continue transiting through his country.
Speaking to reporters in Luxembourg after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers, the bloc's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the loan saga had taken many twists and turns. “We expect an agreement in 24 hours, so I don’t want to jinx it,” she said.
Source: WPLG
