'I did not blow up Druzhba': Zelenskyy reveals timeline for pipeline repairs
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while speaking with journalists, stated that the Druzhba oil pipeline was blown up by aerial targets that came from the Russian Federation. The pipeline could be technically restored within two months.
“I am simply saying: if we have decided to restore Russian oil, then I want them to know that I am against it. And there is no need to accuse me of blocking it. I am not blocking it. I am openly saying: I am against it,” Zelenskyy said.
According to him, the decision on financing worth 90 billion euros was approved by all 27 countries of the European Union, but it was blocked by one person who did not have the right to do so but still blocked it. He was referring to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
“I did not blow up Druzhba. This is a fact. And no one can dispute it. Druzhba was blown up by aerial targets that entered from the Russian Federation. And not just once. There is documentation of all these processes,” Zelenskyy said.
He explained that the issue of repairing the pipeline is part of a broader negotiation process regarding financial support for Ukraine and its membership in the European Union.
“If we are talking about Druzhba, that is the second point. The first is that Ukraine should not be blocked, and that the conditions should be agreed upon. But what happened was that the discussion jumped straight to the repair issue, and people asked: when will you repair it? First we need to decide whether they want to buy Russian oil. Then there will be a combined decision with America and other countries that do not always adhere to oil sanctions — China, Brazil, India,” Zelenskyy stressed.
The president added that if there is blackmail or attempts to impose conditions without providing Ukraine with weapons, he cannot leave the army without support.
“Just in case, we named a possible date for the technical restoration of Druzhba — up to two months. But the main question is whether Ukraine has the right in Europe to buy and transit Russian oil,” he concluded.
Conflict between Ukraine and Hungary
Disputes continue between Ukraine and Hungary over the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Central European countries.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he would block 90 billion euros in financial aid from the European Union for Ukraine until Kyiv restores the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungarian refineries.
It also became known that a Hungarian group led by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Energy Gábor Czepek arrived in Kyiv for talks regarding the pipeline.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed that the Hungarian representatives do not have the official status of a delegation and arrived in the country as ordinary tourists under the visa-free regime.
