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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed EU leadership that restoring oil transit through the “Druzhba” pipeline will take roughly one and a half months if there are no further attacks from Russia. He noted that the damage from Russian strikes is significant, according to reports by European Pravda.
In a letter dated March 17, Zelenskyy rejected claims that Ukraine is deliberately blocking oil transit through Druzhba, calling them baseless.
The day before, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa offered Ukraine technical and financial assistance to restore oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia. Zelenskyy explained that the full shutdown of the Brody pumping station prevents maintaining sufficient pressure and safe transit, but Kyiv has been working on an alternative solution since the first days after the attack, which is nearing completion.
“In this context, I am grateful and accept your offer of the necessary technical support and funding, so we can complete repairs as quickly as possible and consider long-term solutions for the future,” Zelenskyy wrote.