The “Friendship” oil pipeline is a source of tension. Experts stuck in Kiev without permission
Experts from the European Commission and representatives of member states are still waiting for permission from the Ukrainian authorities. The team is to inspect the pumping station in Brody and assess the condition of the pipeline.
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Kyiv initially explained the delay for security reasons. However, there are more and more suggestions in the capital of Belgium that President Volodymyr Zelensky may have political reasons for refusing access to the damaged pipeline.
Dispute over the causes of the Druzhba oil pipeline failure
Russia damaged the pipeline on January 27, 2026 in an attack. This resulted in the suspension of the transit of Russian crude oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia.
The Ukrainian authorities declared their readiness to repair the infrastructure, while warning about the serious extent of the damage. Kiev also emphasized the risk of further attacks from Russia, which could destroy the oil pipeline again.
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Budapest and Bratislava stated that Ukraine intentionally blocked the transmission of the raw material. Both governments even claimed to have satellite images that showed no damage to the pipeline.
Orban blocks EU aid for Ukraine
Prime Minister Viktor Orban responded by blocking the EU loan to Ukraine. This is a financial package of EUR 90 billion for 2026-2027. Hungary, together with Slovakia, also refused to support the 20th package of sanctions against Russia. On Wednesday, Orban went a step further, announcing the suspension of gas supplies to Ukraine. The condition for resuming transmission is to restart oil pumping through the “Przyjaźń” pipeline.
Budapest sent its own delegation in March to examine the condition of the oil pipeline. The team included Deputy Minister of Energy Gabor Czepek and specialists from the oil industry.
Read also: Pipelines as important as the army. A bill in the Sejm to help build them
However, the Ukrainian government did not recognize this mission as official and refused to organize a formal meeting. Kiev representatives described the Hungarian group as “tourists”.
