Reuters —
After months of suspension, Russian crude oil passed through the Ukrainian section of the Druzhva pipeline on Wednesday, officials said, after months of suspension, allowing Hungary to lift Hungary’s veto on a 90 billion euro ($105.79 billion) EU loan that Kyiv urgently needs.
The Druzhba pipeline has become one of Europe’s most politically charged infrastructure projects since a Russian drone attack damaged the pipeline in western Ukraine and halted Russian oil shipments to Hungary and Slovakia.
Hungarian oil group Mitsui O.S.K. Lines announced on Wednesday that it had been notified by Ukraine that shipments of Russian crude oil via pipeline had resumed.
“Mitsui O.S.K. Lines expects the first crude oil shipments following the reopening of the Ukrainian section of the pipeline system to arrive in Hungary and Slovakia by tomorrow at the latest,” it said in a statement.
The pumping began at 5:35 a.m. ET, an industry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Shortly after, EU ambassadors meeting in Brussels approved the loan. The 27 member states of the European Union (EU) are expected to formally sign the agreement by Thursday afternoon.
The EU last year agreed to a loan to maintain Ukraine’s liquidity from 2026 to 2027, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Slovak government have blocked the loan, accusing Ukraine of delaying pipeline repairs, a charge Kiev denies.
Hungary and Slovakia are both heavily dependent on Russian oil, and Prime Minister Orbán has consistently shown support for Russia.
By the time Mr. Orbán was defeated in Hungary’s parliamentary elections on April 12, Ukraine’s prospects for receiving loans had already improved.
The leader of the winning party, Piotr Magyar, said he would no longer block EU funds to Kiev, but he is expected to take power only next month.
Druzhba, which means friendship in Russian, has a production capacity of 1.2 million to 1.4 million barrels per day, with the potential to increase to a maximum of 2 million barrels per day.
However, as a result of repeated disruptions due to Western sanctions and drone attacks, the flow has been reduced to a fraction of that amount.
Separately, Germany confirmed that no Kazakh crude will arrive at the country’s largest PCK Shvet refinery after May, after industry officials announced on Tuesday that Russia plans to halt Kazakh oil exports through the Druzhba pipeline.
