US EditionUkrainian, Slovak Leaders to Meet over Oil Pipeline Dispute
Zelenskyy invited Slovak PM Fico to discuss a pipeline outage caused by a Russian attack that halted oil transit for about a month, affecting EU energy supply.
- Following a Friday morning call, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to visit Ukraine to discuss all issues amid tensions over the Druzhba pipeline, offline for about a month after a late-January disruption.
- Budapest and Bratislava escalated the row, citing deliberate delays and halted diesel exports to Ukraine, blocked the 20th EU sanctions package, while Budapest obstructs a 90 billion-euro loan to Kyiv.
- Fico proposed on X that a joint inspection group including the European Commission should verify the pipeline, and Orban agreed to set up a Hungarian-Slovakian investigation committee to clarify its status.
- Slovakia responded by halting diesel, gas, and electricity supplies to Ukraine, and Kyiv offered alternatives such as the Odesa‑Brody pipeline while Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic proposed routing oil via the Adria pipeline with 15 million tons annual capacity.
- Hungary's domestic politics have shaped its stance, with Viktor Orbán, Hungarian Prime Minister, trailing in polls ahead of the April parliamentary elections and adopting combative rhetoric; he published an open letter to Zelensky on Feb. 26 and deployed Hungarian troops earlier this week.
40 Articles
40 Articles
Druzhba pipeline in focus – Slovakia accuses Kiev of blocking flows, Ukraine cites technical problems after Russian strikes
Zelenskyy invites Slovakia's Fico to Ukraine amid pipeline row
Zelenskyy has invited the Slovak PM to Kyiv to discuss 'all issues' after a week of tensions over the Druzhba pipeline. Earlier, Hungary and Slovakia demanded access from Kyiv to inspect the grounds of the pipeline.
Insider: Drushba stop also blocks Ukrainian oil exports +++ Kremlin confirms plans for trilateral Ukraine negotiations +++ Selenskyj invites Fico for talks+++ The news blog.
Slovakia, Hungary want to inspect Druzhba pipeline as Zelensky invites Fico to Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky invited Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to visit Ukraine in a phone call on Feb. 27, amid a row between Kyiv, Budapest, and Bratislava over a key oil pipeline.
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 55% of the sources lean Right
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
