Hungarian delegation heads to Kyiv for talks on Druzhba oil pipeline
Hungary has sent a delegation to Ukraine to negotiate the situation with the Druzhba oil pipeline, whose transit through Ukrainian territory was suspended at the end of January.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by Telex. The delegation is headed by Gabor Csapek, Parliamentary State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of Energy. According to him, the purpose of the trip is to hold talks in Kyiv not only with Ukrainian energy leaders, but also with ambassadors and representatives of the European Commission.
Čapek announced the trip in a video message recorded at the Zahony border crossing on the Hungarian side of the border.
On March 4, the Hungarian government established a special investigative commission to assess the condition of the oil pipeline. In addition to Čapek, its members include an oil industry expert, a civil servant specializing in international relations, and an energy market analyst.
Before traveling to Ukraine, the commission members held talks in Bratislava with representatives of the Slovak energy sector and government. As a result of the meeting, the parties agreed that Slovakia would also join the Hungarian delegation.
The Commission also sent a letter to the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal.
Since the end of January 2026, oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline across Ukraine has ceased. Hungary and Slovakia received most of their imported oil via this route.
Against this backdrop, Hungary blocked a €90 billion loan to Ukraine from the European Union until oil supplies through Druzhba are restored. Slovakia, in turn, said it would not provide Ukraine with emergency electricity supplies until the oil pipeline is back in operation.
Ukraine explained that transit had been halted due to Russian attacks and suggested that the European Union use alternative oil transportation routes, in particular the Odessa–Brody oil pipeline.
At the same time, Budapest and Bratislava stated that satellite images allegedly did not show any damage to the pipeline itself. They consider the suspension of transit to be a political decision.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously stated that he would not want Druzhba to resume operations, as it involves the transportation of Russian oil, but added that technically, the pipeline could be restored in about a month and a half.
