Ukraine targets Druzhba pipeline to sever Russian oil, influence in EU

To galore Ukrainians and Europeans, the European Union’s unlocking of a 90bn-euro ($105bn) indebtedness to Ukraine connected April 23 was a bittersweet triumph due to the fact that it came with a multibillion-dollar acquisition to Russia.

EU subordinate Hungary agreed to assistance a veto connected the indebtedness aft Ukraine mended the Druzhba pipeline, which traverses its territory and supplies Hungary with Russian oil.

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Ukraine needs the wealth to combat for different 2 years, but landlocked Hungary and Slovakia accidental they some beryllium connected the Druzhba pipeline arsenic their lone root of crude.

Last year, they received 9.25 cardinal tonnes done it, worthy much than $4bn. It’s a acold outcry from the astir $50bn the EU paid Russia for crude successful 2021, earlier Russia invaded Ukraine, but Ukraine says adjacent this wealth translates straight into bombs, bullets and Ukrainian lives.

“In bid for america to get immoderate wealth to survive, the aggressor who is sidesplitting america needs to get immoderate money, arsenic well. It seems similar it’s a woody wherever we conscionable cannot win,” said Inna Sovsun, a Ukrainian parliament subordinate who sits connected the vigor committee.

“It’s completely, let’s say, weird, but I deliberation the stronger connection would beryllium immoral,” she told Al Jazeera.

‘Backbone of proviso for Central Europe’

Apart from Hungary and Slovakia, the EU appears to hold with Sovsun.

It banned Russian seaborne crude and refined petroleum products arsenic of January and March 2023, respectively, carving retired an objection for pipeline crude “until the Council [of EU leaders] decides otherwise”.

Other EU members who beryllium connected the Druzhba pipeline – Austria, Czechia, Germany and Poland – each weaned themselves disconnected its oil, adjacent though they, too, could person taken vantage of the exemption. But 3 of them are littoral states with lipid terminals, and Austria has been fed done the Transalpine pipeline from Italy and different pipelines built to proviso Western Europe during the Cold War.

“Druzhba was … the backbone of proviso for Central Europe,” John Roberts, a elder spouse with Methinks, an vigor consultancy, told Al Jazeera. “The nonaccomplishment of Druzhba to astir of Western Europe is simply a large annoyance, but it’s not hopeless … That’s not existent for Central Europe.”

Hungary mightiness person been supplied via the Adria pipeline that starts successful Croatia, but the 2 countries are locked successful a ineligible conflict for its control. Nor was it applicable for Hungary and Slovakia to unopen down their refineries and import products from neighbours, accidental vigor experts.

“It’s precise costly to import refined products connected a imperishable basis, and shutting down their refineries successful Hungary and Slovakia means they suffer an full system and a full scope of petroleum products similar naphtha for fertiliser, asphalt, plastics and truthful on,” said Costis Stambolis, enforcement manager of the Institute of Energy for Southeast Europe (IENE).

A ‘geopolitical struggle’

When lipid flowed into Slovakia again connected April 23, Prime Minister Robert Fico said, “The Druzhba pipeline and lipid were utilized arsenic tools successful a geopolitical struggle.”

Oil had stopped flowing aft January 27, erstwhile Ukraine said a pumping presumption connected the Druzhba pipeline had been deed successful a Russian aerial raid. The determination was excessively unsafe for enactment crews to hazard their lives mending the damage, Kyiv said.

Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban were suspicious astir Ukraine’s relationship of the damage. Orban wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen connected March 3, urging her to enforce Ukraine’s work to let lipid to flow.

The committee instantly stepped up unit connected Kyiv to let inspectors to spot the grade of the damage. A Hungarian squad arrived successful Kyiv connected March 14, but was not allowed to sojourn the site. A European squad arrived 3 days later. It, too, was kept away.

By then, Orban had reversed his December support of the loan, staging a conflict of wills with Kyiv.

Ukraine appeared to bide its clip until a Hungarian wide predetermination unseated Orban connected April 12, and past fixed the pipeline.

Asked if the full standoff was staged to get escaped of Orban, Sovsun said, “I don’t deliberation determination is [anything] we wouldn’t bash to forestall the killings of Ukrainians.”

No emotion lost

Sovsun believed Budapest tutored Kyiv successful blackmail successful 2016, erstwhile the 2 started negotiating astir Hungarian number connection rights successful occidental Ukraine.

Kyiv conceded bilingual education, but, Sovsun said, “The presumption of Hungary was that each acquisition up to the precocious schoolhouse should beryllium done successful Hungarian.”

“They were ne'er happy,” she said. “It was evident they were conscionable coming up with caller pretences and caller reasons of however to artifact Ukraine’s EU integration. They person nary motivation rights to assertion that idiosyncratic other is blackmailing them aft they person been blackmailing Ukraine for implicit 10 years,” she said.

In June 2025, Hungary formally blocked Ukrainian accession talks. As though to cement his decision, Orban held a referendum connected Ukraine’s EU membership, wherever 95 percent of ballots returned were against it. The absorption said the effect was engineered.

Hungary has been considered a achromatic sheep successful the EU astatine slightest since 2018, erstwhile the European Parliament moved to deprive it of its voting rights successful the Council of EU leaders. By an overwhelming majority, the European Parliament recovered successful 2022 that Orban’s curtailment of escaped accusation and antiauthoritarian processes meant Hungary was a “hybrid authorities of electoral autocracy”, and its “respect for antiauthoritarian norms and standards is absent.”

When Hungary assumed the rotating presidency of the EU successful 2024, some the EU and NATO dismissed Orban’s shuttle diplomacy to Moscow and Beijing arsenic a backstage escapade that didn’t correspond them. Many EU members sent non-cabinet-level unit to Hungary’s Council gatherings.

Under Fico, Slovakia played 2nd fiddle successful obstructing Ukraine’s narration with the EU.

When Fico visited Russian President Vladimir Putin successful December 2023, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused him of striking “shadow agreements with Putin” designed “for idiosyncratic gain”.

Fico called Zelenskyy “an force of Slovakia” the pursuing period for opposing the proviso of Russian state crossed Ukraine, and the proposition that Slovakia bargain state from Azerbaijan instead.

In an evident imitation of Orban, Fico flew to Moscow for Russia’s May 9 Victory Day parade past year, commemorating the extremity of World War II – the lone EU person to bash so.

Russian authorities media praised him for lasting up to “blatant and frenzied pressure” to enactment home.

Fico aboriginal told his parliament that neutrality from NATO “would payment Slovakia precise much,” and said helium was “extremely funny successful standardisation of relations” with Moscow.

Fico joined Orban successful vetoing Ukraine’s EU talks successful June 2025 and blocked an 18th sanctions package against Russia.

Zelenskyy and Fico then, inscrutably, patched up their narration astatine the Ukrainian municipality of Uzhgorod past September, portion inaugurating a conception of recently built European-gauge railway way crossed their border.

Fico said helium would enactment Ukraine’s EU accession, without explaining what led to the switch, leaving Hungary arsenic the holdout.

Sabotage wrong Russia

All this behaviour from Hungary and Slovakia has convinced Ukraine that the 2 EU members person been acting successful collusion with Moscow, and that vigor was simply their latest excuse for holding Ukraine’s indebtedness and EU rank hostage.

Many Europeans hold and bash not blasted Kyiv for its reluctance to repair the Druzhba pipeline.

“The full thought of saying to Ukraine, ‘Now hole the spread the Russians person made successful bid that we tin transportation Orban to assistance a veto implicit the 90 billion’, it’s truthful extraordinary,” said Catherine Fieschi, a student connected European authorities astatine Carnegie Europe, a deliberation tank. “The Europeans person been truthful dismal connected a fig of these issues that Ukraine is close to footwear america up the backside,” she told Al Jazeera.

Ukraine present appears to beryllium doing conscionable that: shutting down Druzhba for bully by attacking its pumping stations heavy wrong Russia, and presenting Europe and Russia with force majeure.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) acceptable occurrence to the Kaleykino lipid pumping presumption successful the Republic of Tatarstan, a 1000 kilometres (621 miles) from Ukraine, connected February 23. The presumption feeds Western Siberian lipid into the Druzhba pipeline.

On April 21, the SBU attacked the Transneft-Privolga pumping presumption successful Samara, damaging 5 20,000-tonne tanks of crude that provender Druzhba.

The strikes connected Druzhba’s infrastructure person had an interaction beyond exports to Hungary and Slovakia.

Reuters estimated past period that they had played a relation successful depriving Russia of 40 percent of its full export capacity, and that the disruption of flows done the Druzhba pipeline had forced Russia to chopped its lipid accumulation by fractional a cardinal barrels a time compared with precocious 2025.

Peter Magyar, Hungary’s incoming premier minister, has said helium volition clasp different referendum connected Ukrainian accession. Not everyone is definite that it volition effect successful a yes vote, oregon that different EU members volition ballot yes.

“The Hungarians were large to fell behind,” said Fieschi.

“Things are going to get truthful overmuch tougher connected the accession front. And this time, France volition person to accidental what it truly means, arsenic volition Germany, arsenic volition the Netherlands,” she said. “There’s going to beryllium a truly uncomfortable clarification moment. And I deliberation  we’re astir to measurement into it.”