Oil set to flow through Druzhba again as Ukraine confirms repairs are complete

Hungarian petrochemical group MOL has received official confirmation from the Ukrainian operator of the Druzhba oil pipeline that it is ready to resume deliveries of oil to Hungary and Slovakia. Reuters reported this today. A Ukrainian source then told AFP that transit would resume within hours. The pipeline has been shut down since the end of January; according to the Ukrainian side, it was damaged in a Russian attack.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Slovak government accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying repairs to the pipeline, a claim Kyiv denied. Orbán, for example, opposes Ukraine's rapid accession to the EU, which the government in Kyiv strongly wants. Orbán has also made approval of a €90 billion (CZK 2.2 trillion) EU loan to Ukraine conditional on the resumption of Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline.

Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 12 April, with Orbán's rival Péter Magyar emerging victorious. He has said that if he becomes prime minister, Hungary under his leadership will diversify its oil supplies, but that Russian oil will remain part of the mix. Like Orbán, Magyar has spoken out against Ukraine's rapid accession to the EU.

An industry source told Reuters on Tuesday that Ukraine would resume the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline today. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that repairs to the pipeline had been completed and called on the EU to unblock the €90 billion loan.

"JSC Ukrtransnafta, which is responsible for operating the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba pipeline, has officially informed MOL that work to repair the Druzhba pipeline has been completed and that the force majeure status in effect since 27 January 2026 was terminated at 18:00 on 21 April 2026," the Hungarian company said in a statement today, as quoted by Reuters. According to this notice, JSC Ukrtransnafta is ready to resume oil transit to Hungary and Slovakia.

Péter Magyar, the winner of Hungary's parliamentary election, called on Zelenskyy on Monday to restart the pipeline as soon as possible now that repairs were complete. He also called on Russia to resume oil deliveries through Druzhba.

Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia's military invasion since February 2022. In response, the European Union began imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia and, among other measures, rejecting Russian energy. Hungary and Slovakia, as landlocked countries, are so far exempt from the sanctions, but the EU intends to gradually end its purchases of Russian oil and gas entirely. Revenue from oil and gas sales helps Russia finance its war in Ukraine.