An inspection of the damaged Druzhba oil pipeline by EU experts is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18. A small delegation of qualified European engineers is already in Kyiv.
This was reported by Radio Svoboda.
The EU Delegation in Kyiv is organizing logistics for the pipeline inspection to take place on March 18.
According to EU officials, the experts conducting the inspection will not represent Hungary or Slovakia to avoid bias in the assessment.
EU diplomats also noted that the release of a 90-billion-euro loan for Ukraine, which is currently being blocked by Hungary, depends on the resumption of the Druzhba pipeline’s operation or, at the very least, on allowing European experts to assess its condition.
The Druzhba oil pipeline, which transits through Ukraine, transports Russian oil to Europe, specifically to Hungary and Slovakia.
After the start of the full-scale invasion, the EU banned imports of Russian oil, but made an exception for Hungary, Slovakia, and Austria due to their lack of access to the sea. Austria was later able to diversify its supplies. According to Ukraine, the pipeline was damaged by Russian shelling in late January, but Hungarian and Slovak officials deny this. Hungary also stated that satellite data allegedly does not indicate any technical or operational issues that would prevent the pipeline from resuming operations.