en.Wedoany.com Reported - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the completion of repairs to the Friendship oil pipeline, with plans to resume oil transportation on April 22. Reuters, citing industry sources, reported that the first batch of oil will be evenly allocated to Hungary and Slovakia, and Hungarian company MOL has submitted the first transit request.

In January 2026, the Friendship pipeline was disrupted due to damage at a pumping station, affecting oil supplies to EU member states Hungary and Slovakia. In a video address, Zelenskyy stated, "The EU asked Ukraine to repair the Friendship oil pipeline. We have repaired it. We expect the EU will also fulfill the agreement." He urged the EU to release the €90 billion loan that had been stalled due to the pipeline dispute.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is expected to make a decision on the Ukrainian loan within 24 hours, while EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis indicated the first payment could be made by the end of May or early June. Russia announced technical readiness to resume pumping, but Reuters reported that Russia plans to stop transporting Kazakh oil via a pipeline branch to Germany starting next month.

The closure of the Friendship pipeline became a focal point in the Hungarian elections, with newly elected Prime Minister Péter Magyar calling for a swift resumption of oil deliveries to Hungary. According to data from consultancy ExPro, pipeline transit volume dropped to a decade-low of 9.7 million tons last year, with Slovakia and Hungary accounting for the majority. The Friendship pipeline, extending over 5,500 kilometers, connects Russian oil fields with European markets, supplying 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels per day.

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