Ukraine repairs Druzhba and expects EU loan

Ukraine has repaired the Druzhba oil pipeline, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced yesterday, paving the way for Kiev to receive a long-awaited €90 billion EU loan.

“As agreed in communication with the European Union, Ukraine has completed repair work on the section of the Druzhba oil pipeline that was damaged in the Russian attack,” Zelensky wrote in a post on social media. “The pipeline can be put back into operation.”

"We link this to the unblocking of the European support package for Ukraine, which has already been approved by the European Council," Zelensky added.

The pipeline, which carried Russian oil to central Europe, stopped working after being damaged in a Russian attack in January and has since become the subject of a bitter dispute between Ukraine and Hungary. Budapest, which gets most of its oil from Moscow, accused Kiev of stalling repairs and then vetoed a 90 billion euro EU loan for Ukraine, which was initially approved by EU leaders at a summit in December.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaia Kalas said yesterday that European Union countries can be expected to officially approve the promised 90 billion euro loan to Ukraine today, Reuters reported. "I expect a positive decision on the 90 billion euro loan in the next 24 hours," Kalas said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

Zelensky's announcement paves the way for Hungary to finally lift its veto on the loan, which is intended to bolster Ukraine's war-torn economy and help repel a full-scale Russian invasion. Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Sunday he would drop his opposition once oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline is restored.

On Monday, in a sign of optimism that the impasse could be overcome and funds for Ukraine unblocked, Cyprus, as the EU Council presidency, put the topic on the agenda of a meeting of the 27 EU ambassadors on Wednesday. The agreement is expected to be highlighted at a gathering of EU leaders in Cyprus on Thursday and Friday, according to the Politiko portal.

European Council President Antonio Costa thanked Zelensky in a post on social media "for fulfilling the agreement: repairing the Druzhba oil pipeline and restoring its operation."

Zelensky has repeatedly called on Europe to diversify its energy supply sources and not to resume deliveries via the Druzhba oil pipeline.

However, there is "no guarantee that Russia will not repeat attacks on oil pipeline infrastructure," the Ukrainian leader warned yesterday.