Zelenskyy to EU leaders: Oil transit via Druzhba pipeline could resume in 1.5 months

Zelenskyy said when oil transit via Druzhba will resume

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told EU leaders that it would take about a month and a half to restore transit through the Druzhba pipeline following the Russian strikes.

According to Censor.NET, citing a report from the European Parliament, this is stated in the president's letter.

Details

Earlier, European Commission President von der Leyen and European Council President Costa sent a letter to Zelenskyy in which they offered Ukraine technical and financial assistance to resume oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline.

Zelenskyy noted in a letter dated March 17 that the latest damage to the Druzhba pipeline infrastructure is quite serious, and the complete shutdown of one pumping station—in Brody—makes it impossible to maintain sufficient pressure in the pipeline and ensure safe transit.

"The claims that Ukraine is deliberately blocking oil transit through the 'Druzhba' pipeline are baseless," he emphasized.

The head of state also assured that Ukraine began working on an alternative technical solution from the very first days following that strike, and that this work is nearing completion.

"We expect that the pumping station in Brody will regain its operational capacity within approximately 1.5 months. This will ensure a full resumption of supplies—provided, of course, that there are no new attacks by the Russian Federation. Preliminary technical assessments indicate that the damaged oil tank cannot be repaired. Therefore, Ukraine is considering the construction of underground storage infrastructure," Zelenskyy’s letter states.

"In this context, I appreciate and accept your offer of the necessary technical support and funding so that we can complete the repair work as soon as possible and explore sustainable solutions for the future," he wrote, adding that he would instruct the head of Naftogaz to contact the EU Ambassador to Ukraine regarding this matter.

Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine can offer alternative routes for the transit of oil—not from Russia—to Central and Eastern European countries.

"I would also like to emphasize the importance of implementing the EU’s decision to completely phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of 2027 as part of the REPowerEU initiative. This would be a decisive step toward strengthening the EU’s energy independence and eliminating vulnerabilities related to Russia’s use of energy resources as a weapon," the president concluded.

Russia's attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline

On January 7, a piece of infrastructure was damaged in Brody, Lviv region, as a result of a Russian attack. Naftogaz reported that the Russian military had attacked a critical infrastructure facility in western Ukraine. A fire broke out, and operations at the facility were halted.
According to the publication Enkorr, the facility in question is located in the city of Brody in the Lviv region and is connected to the Druzhba oil pipeline.
On February 12, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline had been suspended since January 27 due to a Russian attack. He also said that Budapest was preparing to lodge a complaint regarding transit issues.
The governments of Hungary and Slovakia have announced a suspension of diesel fuel exports to Ukraine until Russian oil supplies resume via the Druzhba pipeline.
On March 11, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that a group of Hungarian citizens had entered Ukrainian territory without official status or scheduled official meetings.
President Zelenskyy stated that he is unaware of what the Hungarian delegation is doing in Ukraine.
Subsequently, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó accused Zelenskyy of lying and published a Hungarian diplomatic note indicating that Budapest had requested a meeting between Cepec and Ukrainian Minister Denys Shmyhal.
At the same time, the Foreign Ministry's note indicates that the Hungarian side did not coordinate its delegation's visit to the Druzhba oil pipeline with Ukraine and received proposals from Kyiv regarding alternative dates for the visit.