EU considering aid for Druzhba pipeline repairs to unlock Ukraine loan – Bloomberg

The European Union is considering providing Ukraine with financial support to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline, as Hungary and Slovakia are blocking aid for Kyiv and Russia sanctions until supplies via the pipeline resume.

Source: Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The sources told Bloomberg that the European Commission could provide support through its budgetary assistance to Ukraine. The EU is also willing to provide expertise, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In an interview with Bloomberg last month, Serhii Koretskyi, CEO of Naftogaz of Ukraine, the state-owned oil and gas company, said Russia had attacked the pipeline in January, causing a storage tank fire that took 10 days to extinguish and damaging equipment, power cables, transformers and the leak detection system.

Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of holding back supplies and questioned the scale of the damage. Neither country has acknowledged the January Russian strike.

The sources said the Druzhba site has been hit nearly two dozen times since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Repairs were often carried out under Russian attack, putting emergency workers' lives at risk, and Moscow is likely to strike the pipeline again after it is repaired, they added.

Hungary's block on aid has annoyed the EU and several capitals, which accused Budapest of breaking a December promise to approve the loan for Ukraine.

Hungary has also refused to consider alternatives to Russian energy, such as deliveries via Croatia, arguing that oil from Moscow is cheaper. EU ambassadors discussed the issue at a meeting on Wednesday 4 March.

The EU's executive is in talks with Kyiv on the possibility of sending a fact-finding mission to verify the damage at the Druzhba site, the sources said, adding that the discussions are ongoing.

Background:

• Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wants to coordinate a position on the Druzhba pipeline with the European Commission before meeting Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• Earlier, Fico held a press conference at which he presented satellite images that he claims confirm that no critical damage has been caused to the Druzhba oil pipeline.

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