Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on April 21 that specialists had completed repairs to part of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which, according to Kiev, was damaged as a result of a strike by the Russian Armed Forces.
“The oil pipeline can resume work,” Zelensky said. “Although no one can guarantee now that Russia will not repeat the attack on the oil pipeline infrastructure, our specialists have created the basic conditions for restoring the operation of the oil pipeline system and equipment.”
He added that he expected the EU to release a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, which was previously approved by the EU and blocked by previous Hungarian authorities.
The Druzhba oil pipeline has been idle since January. Ukraine claimed it was halted after a Russian drone attack. Hungary and Slovakia suspected that Kyiv was delaying reforms. In addition, Ukraine did not allow the European Commission’s independent inspectors to enter the facility for several weeks, causing confusion in EU countries.
TISA party leader Peter Magyar said on April 13, after winning the Hungarian parliamentary elections, that the new Hungarian authorities would not block the European Union’s decision to allocate a €90 billion loan to Ukraine.