Russian Oil Flows to Hungary and Slovakia Resume, EU Approves €90 Billion Ukraine Loan

Ukraine has resumed Russian oil flows to Europe via the Druzhba pipeline after nearly three months of halted services, prompting Hungary to lift its veto on a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine that has now been approved.

The Details: Slovakia confirmed that it began receiving Russian crude again, and the EU finalized the loan early on Thursday. Separately, on Tuesday, Reuters (Center bias) reported that Russia said it will halt Druzhba oil flows from Kazakhstan to Germany beginning on May 1.

Pipeline Context: The Druzhba pipeline runs through Ukraine and supplies Slovakia with all of its oil and Hungary with about 90%. Belarus, Poland, Czechia, Germany, and Croatia also receive shipments from it. Back in August, Ukraine attacked the pipeline in Russia, halting oil flows for a few days. Then, in late January, Ukraine said Russian forces had attacked the pipeline, making it unable for oil to flow through it. After Ukraine denied EU inspectors permission to visit the pipeline, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he did not want to turn the pipeline back on, Hungary accused Kyiv of sabotaging it. The saga resulted in tense relations and escalations from both sides.

Political Context: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who was defeated earlier this month after 16 consecutive years in power, has previously obstructed EU aid for Ukraine and made his government's fraught relations with Brussels and Ukraine a core part of his failed reelection campaign. While he is still governing, Prime Minister-elect Péter Magyar and his Tisza party are set to take power soon. Magyar had indicated he would not continue to block the loan but that Hungary is in no position to pitch in financially for Ukraine.

How The Media Covered It: Politico (Lean Left), which has often demonstrated a pro-Ukraine and pro-Brussels bias, said the development should bring "a much-needed boost" to Ukraine's "war-strained economy." Kremlin-funded RT (Lean Right) noted that Ukraine denied EU inspectors the ability to visit the pipeline and that both Hungary and Slovakia suggested this meant Ukraine was lying about the situation. Zolta Győri of The European Conservative (Lean Right) published an opinion that noted the pipeline's inactivity damaged the Hungarian economy and added, "Now, the pipeline seems to have 'healed' in a miraculous way, with Orbán out of the picture."

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