Ukraine To Resume Oil Flow Via Druzhba Pipeline From Today.

Kyiv; April 2026: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asserted yesterday (21st April 2026), that supplies vide Druzhba pipelines which was slated for resumptions during the last week of April, will be resumed from today (22nd April 2026) itself.

Oil supplies through the pipeline were suspended since early January 2026 following a Russian attack on a pumping facility in Ukraine that which have sparked an angry backlash from European Union members Hungary and Slovakia, which remain reliant on Russian oil imports via Druzhba. President Zelensky yesterday have said that repairs were complete and urged the EU to unblock a 90 billion Euro loan halted by an argument over the pipe.

Both Hungary, and the Slovak have accused Ukraine of deliberately dragging its feet over the repairs, which it denied. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had vetoed the two-year ​EU loan despite it already being approved by the European Council, outraging many members of the 27 nation bloc.

Viktor Orban, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, have ​lost a bid for reelection on April 12, opening the way to a de-escalation of the crisis. Zelensky, who had previously ⁠said the pipeline would restart by end of April, has announced yesterday that repairs were complete and it was ready to restart. “Oil pumping is scheduled to begin tomorrow at ​lunchtime”, adding that Hungarian oil firm MOL had made the first transit application.

As per Ukrainian official sources, the first shipment would ​be divided equally between Hungary and Slovakia, but did not specify the volume of oil to be pumped.

The suspension has stirred tensions between Zelensky and EU officials, whom he accused of blackmail over the pressure to promptly repair what Ukraine described as a severely damaged section of the pipe. Ukraine had repeatedly said it was making the repairs as fast as possible. European Council President Antonio Costa, ​in a post on X, thanked Zelensky for delivering on his promise to restore oil flows.

Zelensky in turn has asked the European leaders in Brussels to ensure the release of the funding: “There can now be no grounds for blocking it. The European Union asked Ukraine to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline, which the ‌Russians had ⁠damaged. We have repaired it. We hope that the European Union will also implement the agreements”.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg yesterday on Tuesday, said she expected a positive decision on the loan within 24 hours. Ukraine is reliant on Western financial support, four years into the war with Russia. It needs $52 billion in external funding this year and economists say it could start to run low on money by June without the EU ​loan.

European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said yesterday that Ukraine’s funding needs for ⁠2026 were assured and the EU was likely to make the loan’s first disbursement at the end of May or in early June. Meanwhile, Russia had said earlier in the day that Russia was technically ready to restart pumping oil through the pipeline. However, official sources said that Russia plans to stop sending Kazakh oil to Germany via a separate spur of Druzhba from May 1.

Orban ​had made the pipeline ⁠suspension an important part of his campaign for the April 12 vote, accusing Ukraine of trying to sabotage his reelection. The winner of the election, Peter Magyar, called on Monday for Ukraine to reopen Druzhba as soon as it was functional, and for Russia to resume oil shipments to Hungary.

Transit through the pipeline hit a 10-year low of 9.7 million tons ⁠last year, ​with Slovakia receiving 4.9 million tons and Hungary 4.35 million, according to Kyiv-based oil consultancy ExPro.

Zelensky has ​repeatedly called on Europe to diversify energy supplies and not to rely on flows via Druzhba. “No one can currently guarantee that Russia will not repeat attacks on the pipeline facilities”, he said yesterday.

Team Maverick.