On Thursday 12 March, the European Commission announced that it had officially offered to send Ukraine a technical mission to inspect the damaged section of the Druzhba oil pipeline on Ukrainian territory.
“We have proposed a mission to Ukraine and we are awaiting a response ”, said the European Commission’s energy spokesperson, Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, although she was unable to specify the composition or format of the mission.
As an exception to the embargo on Russian oil imposed by the EU following Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, deliveries of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba oil pipeline are still possible. This oil pipeline has been damaged, with Ukraine blaming Russia, and it will take 4 to 6 weeks to repair it. Until deliveries resume, Hungary will block the finalisation of the European Union’s €90 billion loan to Ukraine for 2026 and 2027 (see EUROPE 13825/26).
On Tuesday, Slovakia offered its services to repair the pipeline and welcomed the Commission’s willingness to cover the cost of repairs.
On Thursday, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, accused Ukraine of attacking the TurkStream gas pipeline in Russia, citing information provided by Moscow.
“Ukraine already blocks our oil deliveries, and now they are targeting our gas supplies”, he said on X, convinced that “Ukraine is trying to put Hungary under a total energy blockade in order to interfere in the (Hungarian parliamentary) elections” by supporting the Tisza party, which is leading in the polls. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)