Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 26, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 2, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleRussia accuses Ukraine of jeopardizing European energy security by halting Druzhba oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia. Kyiv cites war damage and a drone strike, as the EU urges repairs and Hungary resists new sanctions and an EU loan.
MOSCOW, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday accused Ukraine of threatening Europe's energy security by stopping Russian oil flowing through the Druzhba oil pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia.
Ukraine, which says the pipeline was damaged by Russian strikes in late January, says it has not yet repaired it and on Monday, in a separate incident, Kyiv's drones struck a key Russian pumping station serving the same pipeline.
Hungary this week blocked new EU sanctions on Russia and an EU loan to Ukraine, in response to the oil stoppage.
"Ukraine's blockage of transit through the Druzhba oil pipeline threatens the energy security of Hungary, Slovakia and the whole of Europe, which is why Brussels' inaction is surprising," Zakharova told a news briefing.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that Brussels had asked Ukraine to speed up repairs to the damaged pipeline. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said a day later it could not be fixed quickly.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, writing by Ksenia OrlovaEditing by Andrew Osborn)
Russia accuses Ukraine of threatening European energy security by stopping oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia, while the EU presses for repairs and Kyiv cites war damage.
Druzhba is a major Soviet-era pipeline network carrying Russian crude to Central and Eastern Europe. Its southern branch crosses Ukraine to supply Hungary and Slovakia.
Brussels urged Ukraine to accelerate repairs. Hungary blocked new EU sanctions and an EU loan to Ukraine over the stoppage, while Ukraine maintains repairs can’t be rushed due to wartime damage.
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