Ukrainian President Zelensky is raising concerns in Brussels as he continues to refuse to reopen the Druzhba oil pipeline and has now rejected requests from EU officials to personally inspect the damage.
A senior EU diplomat says that Ukraine scored an “own goal” by not providing proof of the damage they say cannot be easily repaired and giving Hungary an excuse to block EU loans. “There are very easy ways to document this and prove that they are working hard to restore it. They haven’t,” he told the Financial Times, as quoted by Hirado.
According to the paper, during a recent visit to Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and President of the European Council António Costa asked the Ukrainian leadership to allow an independent assessment of the damage to the pipeline. The Ukrainian government reportedly refused, citing security reasons.
The article also said that senior EU officials are urging Ukraine to allow inspections, with the urgency of their requests most likely now coming in the wake of the war in the Middle East and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, effectively halting all oil and gas exports from the region.
Citing EU diplomats and officials, the newspaper said that the European Commission and the governments of several EU member states, which traditionally side with Ukraine, have asked Kyiv to allow the inspection visit.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose country, along with Slovakia, is directly impacted by losing oil and gas shipments via the Druzhba posted a letter to the European Commission President von der Leyen on X. In it, he reiterated that Kyiv is deliberately causing an energy crisis for Hungarians and interfering in the upcoming April parliamentary elections, with the aim of removing Orbán and Fidesz from power and ensuring a more Brussels-aligned leadership under Péter Magyar.
“As confirmed by recently published satellite evidence, there is no technical or operational reason that would prevent the pipeline from reverting to normal operations immediately. The lack of willingness on the side of Ukraine to reopen the Druzhba pipeline is due to purely political reasons, with the intention to interfere in the ongoing Hungarian election campaign,” Orbán wrote.
His letter went on to note that diplomatic solutions have failed, despite efforts by both Hungary and Slovakia, and that Ukraine continues to violate EU rules with the continued closure.
“Therefore, I call on the European Commission to support Hungary in neutralizing the energy weapon used by Ukraine,” he emphasized, while also asking the Commission “to enforce relevant provisions of the EU – Ukraine Association Agreement” to counter “foreign interference in our democratic processes.
“Until Ukraine returns to normality, I am not in a position to support any decision in the European Union that favours Ukraine,” Orbán concluded.
A few hours after Orbán posted his letter, von der Leyen posted on X that she had spoken with Zelensky regarding the latest loan package and sanctions against Russia, noting they had “also discussed the wider impact of the developments in the Middle East on energy prices, on energy security and on availability of badly needed defence materials.”
