The pipeline, which stopped transporting oil from Russia to Central Europe after it was damaged in a Russian strike in January, became the focus of a bitter dispute between Ukraine and Hungary. Budapest, which receives the vast majority of its oil from Moscow, accused Kyiv of slow-walking repairs and subsequently vetoed a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine, initially approved by the bloc’s leaders at a summit in December.
Zelenskyy’s announcement paves the way for Hungary to finally lift its veto on the loan, which is intended to prop up Ukraine’s war-battered economy and help fend off Russia’s full-scale invasion. Hungary’s outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Sunday that he will drop his opposition as soon as oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline is restored.
On Monday, in a sign of optimism that they could resolve the deadlock and unlock the funds for Ukraine, the Cypriot presidency of the Council of the EU put the topic on the agenda of a meeting of the EU’s 27 ambassadors on Wednesday. The deal is set to be trumpeted at a gathering of EU leaders in Cyprus on Thursday and Friday.
European Council President António Costa thanked Zelenskyy in a post on social media “for delivering, as agreed: repairing the Druzhba pipeline and restoring its operation.”
There was, however, no “guarantee that Russia will not repeat attacks on the pipeline infrastructure,” Zelenskyy warned.