Ukraine Repairs Druzhba Pipeline, Unlocks 90B Euro EU Loan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday that repairs on the Druzhba oil pipeline, damaged by a Russian strike in late January, have been completed, allowing operations to resume and potentially unlocking a 90 billion euro European Union loan for Ukraine's defense and economy.

The pipeline, which transports Russian crude through Ukrainian territory to Hungary and Slovakia, has been offline for two months, halting supplies to the landlocked nations that rely on it for most of their oil imports. Ukrainian officials attributed the damage to Russian drone attacks near the Brody pumping station, which endangered repair crews and complicated restoration efforts. Zelenskyy stated on social media that specialists had restored the necessary conditions for the system to function, though he cautioned that future Russian strikes on the infrastructure could not be ruled out.

The repair resolves a key dispute that delayed the EU loan, originally approved by the European Council in December but blocked in February by Hungary and Slovakia. Both countries accused Kyiv of obstructing the transit for political reasons, prompting them to suspend diesel exports to Ukraine. Outgoing...