KIEV, April 22 — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that repair of the Druzhba oil pipeline has been completed. “Ukraine has finished repairing a section of the Druzhba oil pipeline that was damaged by a Russian strike.
The pipeline can resume its operation,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
Oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine, have halted since late January following an attack, Ukrainian officials said, blaming Russia for the pipeline damage.
Slovakia later declared an oil emergency and claimed that Ukraine was deliberately stopping oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline.
Hungary has also suspended exports of refined fuels such as diesel and gasoline to Ukraine and vetoed a proposed 90 billion-euro (105 billion U.S. dollars) EU financial support package for Ukraine, citing Kiev’s suspension of crude oil deliveries.
Zelensky voiced hope that the EU will unblock the support package for Ukraine after the pipeline’s repair.(Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
