Ukraine claims that it has no official information about the EU mission to inspect the damaged Druzhba pipeline. Access to the device is controlled by the SBU security service.
Ukraine does not yet have any information about the EU mission with the mandate to get acquainted with the extent of damage to the Druzhba pipeline on its Ukrainian section. At a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhij Tychyj, wrote TASR, according to the RBK-Ukraine website. According to his own words, the speaker does not know where the dates of the proceedings and the details of the mentioned mission come from.
- The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no official information about the European Union mission.
- Access to strategic facilities during martial law is decided exclusively by the Security Service of Ukraine.
- The European Commission requested from Ukraine an approximate schedule for the repairs of the damaged Druzhba pipeline.
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conditioned the unblocking of ninety billion euros on the resumption of oil transit.
- Ukraine accepted the European Union’s offer for the financial and technical repair of the oil pipeline.
At the same time, Tychyj recalled that allowing access to strategic facilities in Ukraine or denying it is within the competence of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) during martial law.
EU and repair schedule
He added that the European Commission had previously inquired with Ukraine about the approximate timetable for the repair of the oil pipeline allegedly damaged during the Russian attacks.
Exact repair dates are not available at this time, the spokesman said. According to Tychy, constant contact is maintained with the European Commission, partners and representatives of the EU regarding the technical condition of the equipment.
Mission of experts to Družba
According to Ukraine, information appeared in the media on Tuesday that on March 18, independent experts from European countries will inspect the Druzhba pipeline and check the section damaged by Russia. Representatives of Hungary and Slovakia were not supposed to be among the experts. Logistically, this mission is allegedly provided by the official representation of the EU in Ukraine.
Representatives of the European Commission (EC) noted that the experts will visit Druzhba before the meeting of European leaders on March 19, at which the unblocking of the loan for Ukraine will also be discussed.
Tensions over finances
The conflict between Ukraine and Hungary intensified after the ultimatum of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who made the unblocking of EU funds for Ukraine in the amount of 90 billion euros conditional on the resumption of the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba.
In response, the European Commission announced its readiness to help with the repair of the damaged section of the pipeline.
Support from the EU
In a letter to EC leaders Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine agreed to the EU’s offer of financial and technical support for the repair of the Druzhba oil pipeline.
