UKRAINE, Apr. 21— Ukraine has finished the repair works on the Druzhba oil pipeline that was reportedly damaged by the Russian strikes. Soon the pipeline can restore its operations, said Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine.

“Nobody can guarantee that Russia wouldn’t strike Ukraine’s oil infrastructure again, but our specialists have created the basic conditions for resuming oil pipeline system operations,” Zelenskyy said. 

He also added that Ukraine ties the renewal of the Druzhba pipeline’s operations to the release of the European support package, which has already been approved by the European Council. Kyiv expects the opening of EU negotiation clusters. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has “already fulfilled” its part of the commitments.

Oil crisis 

Ukraine has halted the oil transition from Russia through the Druzhba pipeline since Jan. 27. According to Ukrainian officials, Russian strikes severely damaged the Ukrainian branch of the pipeline, making oil delivery impossible.  

“Most of the internal equipment of the oil pipeline, ​various sensors, and other equipment inside the pipeline were damaged by temperature conditions,” said Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal to Ukrainian news agency Interfax. 

On Mar. 3, Financial Times reported that Katarína Mathernová, EU Ambassador to Ukraine, asked Ukraine for permission to inspect the Druzhba pipeline but her request was denied. 

“We cannot say if there is damage or not. There are very easy ways to document it and show they are working hard to repair it. They haven’t done it,” ​​unnamed senior EU diplomat told FT.

On the other hand, a senior Ukrainian official close to Zelnskyy told FT that technical experts from Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company, have provided their European counterparts with evidence showing that Russia seriously damaged the Druzhba pipeline.

Serhii Koretskyi, Naftogaz CEO, told the Financial Times that a Russian strike set fire to a tank holding 75,000 cubic metres of oil and it took 10 days to put it out. Texty, Ukrainian media, conducted an investigation based on satellite images and concluded, also, that the pipeline has been damaged. 

At the same time, the stop to oil delivery caused serious disagreements between Ukraine and Hungary. On Feb. 21, Viktor Orban, the then Hungarian Prime Minister, threatened to suspend power supply from Hungary to Ukraine if oil transition wasn’t restored. 

Slovakia supported Orban’s threats. On Mar. 4, SEPS, Slovakia’s state-owned electricity transmission operator, announced the termination of its contract with Ukrenergo, Ukraine’s national power company, for emergency power supplies. 

On Mar. 16, Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, with Antonio Costa, the President of the European Council, sent a letter to President Zelenskyy proposing to provide the technical and financial support in restoring transit of the Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. 

Back then, European officials added that Hungary is now “not in a position” to vote either for the €90 billion loan for Ukraine or for the 20th package of economic sanctions against Russia. They also said that because of the current high volatility of energy markets oil transit through Ukrainian territory becomes of greater importance to preserve market stability. 

EU officials have likely referred to the price of oil that increased dramatically from $68.81 after the US started a war with Iran. Currently, Brent crude is trading $97 per barrel. 

Zelenskyy responded that he accepted European officials’ offer so Ukraine can complete the repair of the Brody pumping station (the part of the Druzhba pipeline) as soon as possible. On Mar. 17, Ukraine estimated that the oil transition could be restored in one and half months. 

Elections in Hungary   

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s blockade of a €90 billion loan for Ukraine, along with threats to suspend power supply after reported Russian attack on Druzhba pipeline, have strained relations between the two countries. 

On Mar. 5, Zelenskyy, at a briefing on results of the government work, said that he would give Orban’s address to the Armed Forces of Ukraine if Hungary doesn’t veto the loan to Ukraine. 

“Let them (Ukrainian military) call him (Orban) and talk to him in their own language,” Zelenskyy said. 

On the same day, Zoltán Kovács, Hungarian government spokesman, said that Budapest described Zelenskyy’s statement as an open threat. 

On Mar. 6, the European Commission condemned Zelenskyy’s threats to Orban. 

“There must not be threats against EU member states,” said Olaf Gill, European Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson.

On the night of Mar. 6, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) reported that two of Ukrainian state-owned Oshchadbank’s cars were detained by Hungarian law enforcement. There were seven bank workers in the cars, and all of them lost cellular connection. 

Andrii Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, called the Hungarian detention of seven Ukrainian bank workers on suspicion of money laundering in Budapest a part of “Hungary’s blackmail and electoral campaign” in preparation for the Apr. 12 parliamentary election.  

On election day, TISZA, a pro-European opposition party, secured a constitutional majority, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule in Hungary.

Zelenskyy congratulated Peter Magyar, the TISZA’s leader, on the victory, adding that Ukraine always sought for neighborly relations with all European countries and is ready for cooperation with Hungary. 

On Apr. 14, two days after TISZA won the elections, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine expects to restore operations of the Druzhba pipeline by the end of April.  

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