Zelenskyy accuses Orbán and Fico of ingratitude over Druzhba pipeline repairs

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico have not expressed any gratitude to Ukraine for repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline.

Source: Zelenskyy during a press briefing on 2 March, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy said he had emphasised to Fico that Russian oil transit means Russia is earning money and can keep on funding the war, so there is no way that Ukraine can sincerely wish such transit to resume.

"If European leaders ask us to do this, we must understand what the price of doing so is… After the first strike, we repaired everything. There have been no public appeals to the Russians not to hit the pipeline. But there have been public appeals to the Ukrainians, because this is about the energy security of Hungary and Slovakia," the president said.

He added that during the repair works, a "combat situation" occurred in which workers were injured.

Quote: "Has anyone heard Orbán or Fico say 'We are very grateful to Ukraine' or 'We are very sorry for the families and loved ones who suffered'? Not a single word, except that we owe them again. I asked: 'What kind of price is this?' And [I said] to European leaders: 'What is the price? Do people have to die? Do they have to be injured? And you will continue to block everything for Ukraine.'"

Details: Zelenskyy pointed out that decisions on the EU's €90 billion loan to Ukraine, the 20th sanctions package and further progress towards Ukraine's EU membership have stalled due to political resistance from Hungary and to some extent from Slovakia.

Background:

• Budapest and Bratislava believe the pause in the transit of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline is due to a political decision by Ukraine rather than the state of the pipeline following Russian strikes.
• On 2 March, Orbán claimed satellite images prove there are no obstacles to the pipeline's operation.
• Commenting on this, Zelenskyy said satellite images cannot reveal every detail.

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