Zelensky called the repair of the Druzhba oil pipeline impractical despite the demands of Hungary and Slovakia
During a joint press conference in Kyiv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he sees no point in repairing the Druzhba oil pipeline, which is used to supply Russian oil.
"What for? Why repair it? To lose people. I think that's a very high price to pay," Zelensky said. He noted that the Russian military is deliberately attacking repair crews.
Zelensky advised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is blocking aid to Ukraine due to the lack of oil supplies through Druzhba, to appeal to Moscow. According to him, Russia has repeatedly destroyed these pipelines, and Orbán should demand an energy ceasefire from the Kremlin. The president added that there cannot be a situation where Russia destroys and Ukraine rebuilds.
He also stressed that Russian oil, which finances the war against Ukraine, should not be present on the European market.
In a letter to Antonio Costa, which he published on social media, Viktor Orbán confirmed his position on blocking EU financial aid to Ukraine. He stated that there are no technical obstacles to resuming transit through Druzhba to Hungary and that this only requires a political decision by Ukraine.
Orbán called the situation absurd. In the letter, he wrote that the European Union is making a financially beneficial decision for Ukraine, with which he personally disagrees, after which Ukraine is creating an energy emergency in Hungary, and he is expected to ignore it. He also noted that he cannot support any decision in favour of Ukraine until the situation returns to normal.
Orbán maintains close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has tried to block EU sanctions against Moscow and financial aid to Kyiv since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa were in Kyiv to mark the fourth anniversary of the start of the war. She said that she and Costa had called on Ukraine to speed up repairs to the oil pipeline.
Von der Leyen also thanked Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković for his efforts to secure and expand oil transport through Serbia to Hungary and Slovakia via the Adriatic oil pipeline.
Oil transit through Druzhba was interrupted at the end of January after a drone attack on energy facilities in the western Ukrainian town of Brody. In response, Hungary blocked a €90 billion European Union loan to Ukraine, as well as diesel fuel supplies.
Slovakia also suspended diesel exports to Ukraine.
Von der Leyen said she intends to bypass Hungary's blocking of the loan guarantee within the EU budget if necessary, stressing that she has various options for doing so.
This is the second suspension of transit within a year. In August last year, supplies from Russia were also temporarily halted due to a Ukrainian attack.
The head of Ukraine's unmanned aerial systems, Robert Brovdi, previously reported a successful attack on a pumping station in Russia's Tambov region.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian invasion for four years with the support of the West.
