Slovakia threatens to block €90-billion EU loan for Ukraine Over Druzhba pipeline halt

Slovakia has signalled it may block, like Hungary, the €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine due to Kyiv’s refusal to resume oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a Facebook video message.

Fico stated that Slovakia is prepared to take over Hungary’s role in blocking the loan if necessary. “Currently, the €90 billion military loan for Ukraine is effectively blocked, but I am not naïve,” he said, noting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested resuming oil flows in about a month, after Hungary’s elections.

The Slovak leader described the loan blockade as a legal instrument to restore oil supplies to EU countries. He said he would discuss the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris on March 10, urging Brussels to compel Kyiv to allow inspection of the allegedly damaged pipeline section.

Fico also accused Zelenskyy of deliberately harming European energy security, warning that the Druzhba pipeline is “vital” for Slovakia. He suggested Kyiv may never repay EU loans and criticised Ukraine’s past actions, linking them to the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline.

Russian oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline to ​Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine have been suspended since late January, after Kyiv said a Russian attack caused a fire that seriously damaged the line. In response, Slovakia declared an oil crisis on February 18 and stopped emergency electricity and diesel fuel supplies to Ukraine. Fico called these measures “a logical consequence of Kyiv’s foolish actions.”

Hungary and ‌Slovakia, European Union members which still import Russian oil and maintain ties with Moscow, ⁠have accused Kyiv of deliberately delaying a restart for political reasons.

By Khagan Isayev