US EditionZelenskyy accuses EU allies of 'blackmail' in oil pipeline row
Zelenskiy condemned EU conditions linking a €90bn loan and sanctions relief to Druzhba pipeline reopening as coercive amid Russian damage and Hungary-Slovakia energy dependencies.
- On Sunday, March 15, 2026, President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the European Union of 'blackmail' for linking a €90 billion loan to repairs of the Druzhba oil pipeline carrying Russian supplies to Hungary and Slovakia.
- Russian drone strikes in January damaged the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, prompting Hungary and Slovakia to threaten blocking EU aid until transit resumes, as both nations depend heavily on Russian energy supplies through the route.
- Zelensky opposed the move, arguing that forcing Ukraine to restore Russian oil transit contradicts EU sanctions policy. He told reporters, "We either sell Russian oil or we don't," questioning why Kyiv must facilitate transit at political cost.
- European Commission officials are pressuring Kyiv to allow an inspection mission to assess pipeline damage, while Prime Minister Viktor Orban has linked his obstruction of the €90 billion loan to his domestic election strategy ahead of April.
- The Ukrainian leader warned that conditional aid demands could leave his country without weapons while expressing hope that the United States will not 'step away' from supporting Kyiv amid the widening conflict in the Middle East.
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Dnevni list Danas
nin.rsVladimir Zelensky says that restoring the flow of Russian oil through Ukraine to the EU would be like lifting sanctions on Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told European allies that pressure to reopen the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine, amounts to blackmail.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned European allies that pressure to reopen the Druzhba pipeline, which brings Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine, amounts to blackmail.
The pipeline, damaged according to Kiev by a Russian attack in January in western Ukraine, has become a source of dispute between this country and neighbouring Hungary.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told European allies that pressure to reopen the Druzhba pipeline, which brings Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine, amounts to blackmail, reports the French news agency AFP.
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