Brussels says Kyiv faces no deadlines over Druzhba repairs

The European Union is not demanding that Ukraine urgently repair the damaged Druzhba oil pipeline or resume the transit of Russian oil to Europe, a European Commission spokesperson said.

Anna-Kaisa Itkonen stated that the EU is neither pressuring Kyiv nor setting deadlines for restoring the pipeline’s operations, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainian media.

“So on Ukraine restoring the Druzhba pipeline, I want to be very, very clear that we are in contact with all relevant authorities, including Ukraine, to seek clarity on the repair timeline. We're not pushing; we're not pressuring or giving deadlines to Ukraine to do this,” she said.

Itkonen emphasized that, in the context of four years of war, Russia has used Ukraine’s energy infrastructure while “strategically and systematically” destroying it.

“Ukraine has shown superhuman efforts to keep repairing and to keep restoring, much with the support of EU member states and the Commission that we have mobilised to ensure that the hospitals stay warm and the households stay warm and that the industry can work.

“In this case, we're not pushing, we're not pressuring, and there are no deadlines. It has to be very clear. But of course, given the situation, given the context, we are in touch about any timelines,” she added.

Meanwhile, Hungary has announced it is suspending diesel fuel supplies to Ukraine until the Druzhba oil pipeline resumes operations.

By Vafa Guliyeva