EU Commission found no grounds for concern over Ukraine's ban on Lukoil oil

He says that the EU investigated the impact of Ukraine's sanctions on the Russian energy supplier Lukoil and had gathered information from all sides—Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine, and Croatia—to obtain a full and accurate picture of the situation. He adds that crude oil deliveries through the Brotherhood pipeline were continuing, and there was currently no issue with their safety.

The European Commission also indicates that they received confirmation from the Ukrainian authorities that the transit of crude oil from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia was not affected, as Lukoil is not its owner.

Dombrovskis adds that they continued to closely monitor the situation and were actively working with interested Member States on alternative solutions, including through the Janaf Adriatic Pipeline. He also notes that they had renewed their calls for Member States to accelerate their efforts to reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

Sanctions against Lukoil

In July, Hungary and Slovakia announced the suspension of oil supplies from the Russian company Lukoil through Ukraine in connection with Kyiv's inclusion of the company in the list of sanctions. Kyiv insists that the pipeline carries the same amount of oil as before, thanks to other Russian companies.

Hungary and Slovakia asked the European Commission to start consultations on a trade agreement with Ukraine.

The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, said that the sanctions introduced by Ukraine do not violate the Association Agreement with the EU, and the reaction of the Slovak and Hungarian parties is extremely politicized and manipulative.

About 12-13 million tons of oil pass through Ukraine annually. About 5 million tons of them are received by Hungary, for which this volume is almost 70% of imports.

Read more about the situation with oil transit in the RBC-Ukraine article.