By cutting off Russian oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia, Kiev has triggered a row that delays a vital loan
Ukraine has agreed to an EU inspection of the Druzhba oil pipeline on its territory, in a last‑minute attempt to ease a dispute with Hungary that has blocked a €90 billion ($105 billion) EU loan package.
The move comes after weeks of acrimony, threats and mutual accusations involving Budapest, Kiev and Brussels over the future of Russian oil flows to Central Europe. Vladimir Zelensky had earlier denounced the same inspection plan as “blackmail” by his European backers, while Budapest accused Kiev of mounting an “oil blockade,” against the backdrop of soaring energy prices amid the US-Israeli war on Iran.
So, what is the Druzhba and how did it become a bargaining chip?
One of the longest pipeline networks in the world, the Druzhba pipeline carries Russian crude roughly 4,000 km to refineries in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
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