Ukraine will resume the transportation of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline as early as Wednesday, April 22. This is expected to happen in the afternoon.
Reuters reported this, citing an unnamed industry source. It is noted that Kiev is seeking access to a 90 billion euro EU loan, which it urgently needs.
“Pumping of oil is planned to begin at noon“, - said the source, quoted by UNIAN.
According to him, the first transit request has already been submitted by Hungarian oil company MOL:
“MOL has already submitted requests for the first volumes, which will be divided equally between Hungary and Slovakia.“
The disputes over the damage to the Druzhba pipeline are complex and often involve mutual accusations between Russia, Ukraine and European countries dependent on supplies.
Ukraine claims that the transit disruptions (especially in January 2026) are due to Russian air strikes and drone attacks on pumping stations and infrastructure on its territory.
Russia and some media sources have reported Ukrainian drone attacks on Druzhba facilities on Russian territory (in Bryansk Oblast, Tatarstan and Samara Oblast), which caused fires and damage.
Several leaks have been recorded on Polish territory over the years (2022, 2023, 2024). The Polish operator PERN usually states that there is no evidence of external interference or sabotage in these specific incidents, which are often attributed to technical reasons or outdated infrastructure.
Hungary and Slovakia have accused Kiev of deliberately delaying repairs to the damaged sections in order to exert political pressure on them over their stance on the war and sanctions. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called Ukraine's actions "political blackmail."
President Zelensky, for his part, accused the European Union of "blackmailing" Kiev into restoring the transit of Russian oil, which he said undermines the sanctions regime against Moscow.
The restoration of the pipeline's operation at the end of April 2026 was directly linked to the unblocking of a €90 billion EU aid package for Ukraine, which was vetoed by Hungary precisely because of the suspended supplies.
On April 21, Ukraine announced that it had completed repair work on the damaged section and the oil pipeline is ready to resume operation, which is considered a key step towards resolving the financial dispute with Brussels and Budapest.