A bitter dispute pitting Hungary and Slovakia against Ukraine is holding up a crucial €90bn (£77.95bn) EU loan to Ukraine. No oil has flowed through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia across Ukraine, since the major oil hub at Brody, in western Ukraine, was damaged in a Russian attack on 27 January.
While Ukraine argues that it will need six more weeks to repair the damage and restore the oil flow, Budapest accuses Kyiv of stalling, as revenge for Hungary's pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian position. The dispute underlines the ability of one or two countries to block EU decision-making. It also shows Hungary and Slovakia facing fuel problems, because they have refused to follow the lead of others and wean themselves off Russian oil since 2022. The Brody pumping station in Ukraine's western Lviv region is crucially important for the transit of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
Satellite images obtained by the BBC suggest that the Russian strike on 27 January damaged its key part - a huge tank used to store oil necessary to keep the pipeline pressurised and functioning. The photos appear to show the tank smouldering after the attack and suggest that a fire raged there for days.
This is the biggest oil tank in Ukraine, with a capacity of 75,000 cubic metres. Ukrainian energy expert Henadiy Ryabtsev says damage caused to the pumping station at Brody is severe, and is possibly not just limited to the oil tank. According to him, the extreme heat resulting from the fire may have also damaged other systems at Brody, such as pumps and the pipeline itself.
The Hungarian government has accused Ukraine of delaying the restoration of the oil flow through the pipeline for political reasons, with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán maintaining close economic and political relations with Moscow, and hosting a campaign focused on hostility towards Ukraine. In the meantime, Hungary has begun receiving non-Russian seaborne Brent crude through the Adria pipeline from Croatia, although their refineries lack the capability to process it effectively.
