Ukraine could resume Druzhba oil flows by Monday, Orbán says

Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday that the EU had passed on signals that Ukraine could soon restore oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, potentially as early as Monday.

The move could break a long-running stand-off between Budapest and Kyiv over the pipeline, which has seen Orbán block a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine in recent months.

The Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary via Ukraine, has been non-operational since late January, when it was damaged by Russian strikes, according to Kyiv.

Hungary and Slovakia, the last EU countries still sourcing oil from Russia via the Soviet-era pipeline, have accused Ukraine of dragging its feet on repairs.

“Through Brussels, we have received an indication from Ukraine that they are ready to restore oil deliveries via the pipeline as early as Monday,” Orbán wrote on X. 

He added that oil flows would unlock Hungary’s controversial blockade of the loan. “Once oil deliveries…