Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 25, 2026
3 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleAfter a Jan. 27 Druzhba outage, the EU says Croatia is evaluating whether seaborne Russian crude can transit under EU and U.S. sanctions. Adria supplies and Ukraine’s Odesa–Brody option are being weighed to secure Hungary and Slovakia.
By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Croatia is assessing whether it can lawfully import seaborne Russian crude oil to supply to Hungary and Slovakia after the Druzhba pipeline supplying them via Ukraine was damaged, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
Supply via Druzhba, which the two countries have relied on since the 1960s, was halted on January 27 due to damage which Kyiv blamed on a Russian drone strike.
"Croatia has communicated that it is assessing the situation, whether it can lawfully accept Russian crude at its port, both under the EU and U.S. sanctions," a European Commission spokesperson said.
The Croatian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Croatia has so far said Adria can import more oil, but suggested there is no need for this supply to be Russian.
The Adria pipeline serves as an alternative route to supply Hungary and Slovakia. In response to the outage via Ukraine, Hungary’s MOL Group has ordered extra cargoes of non-Russian crude to be piped via Adria.
"Non-Russian oil is currently flowing normally through our system toward Hungary and Slovakia. It’s not a supplementary option; it’s an operational reality, and it means that our friends and allies in Hungary and Slovakia have a secure and reliable route of supply," Croatian Economy Minister Ante Susnjar said in a post on X on Tuesday.
POLITICAL DISPUTE
Slovakia and Hungary have accused Ukraine of stalling repairs to the Druzhba pipeline for political reasons.
Hungary vetoed new EU sanctions on Russia this week in retaliation, and blocked a new EU loan for Kyiv, straining Europe's pro-Ukrainian consensus on the eve of the Ukraine war's fourth anniversary.
Ukraine says it is trying to repair the pipeline and offered to arrange alternative routes to transport oil to EU countries via its Odesa-Brody pipeline, in a letter Ukraine's mission to the EU sent to the European Commission, dated February 20 and seen by Reuters.
The spokesperson also said that the European Commission understands Ukraine is ready to accelerate repairs to Druzhba and that the EU is assessing the Odesa-Brody option.
"It might be, therefore, be a bit more of a midterm solution, rather than something that would immediately be a solution," the spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett, Benoit Van Overstraeten; additional reporting by Ivana Sekularac, Jason Hovet; writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout; editing by Jason Neely)
The EU says Croatia is assessing whether it can legally accept seaborne Russian crude to help supply Hungary and Slovakia after the Druzhba pipeline was damaged, and how this fits within EU and U.S. sanctions.
Damage to the Druzhba pipeline on January 27 halted flows to Hungary and Slovakia, prompting a review of whether Russian crude could be shipped by sea to Croatia and moved inland as a temporary measure.
The Adria (JANAF) pipeline from Croatia’s coast is the primary alternative, and Ukraine has proposed using the Odesa–Brody pipeline and related logistics while Druzhba repairs proceed.
Any seaborne Russian crude movement must comply with EU sanctions and U.S. measures such as OFAC rules. Croatia is evaluating whether such transits can be conducted lawfully under these regimes.
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