After months of disruption, crude oil shipments have resumed along the Druzhba pipeline, marking the end of a prolonged outage that had strained relations across Central Europe. Authorities in Slovakia confirmed that deliveries restarted in the early hours of 23 April, with significant volumes expected to reach the region before the end of the month.
The interruption, which lasted roughly three months, escalated into a broader diplomatic dispute involving Ukraine, Hungary, and Slovakia. The latter two accused Ukraine of delaying repair works and linked the situation to political pressure, even responding by blocking a major European Union financial package.
At the same time, Ukrainian officials maintained that the shutdown was caused by physical damage to infrastructure following a Russian strike earlier this year, a position supported by EU institutions. However, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico questioned this explanation, arguing that the relatively quick restoration of flows suggests the pipeline was not significantly damaged and may have been used as leverage in a wider geopolitical dispute.
The restart coincides with a notable political transition in Hungary. Following elections in April, the long-dominant leadership of Viktor Orban was replaced, with incoming leader Peter Magyar signaling a shift in foreign policy direction. Among the first changes was a willingness to lift Hungary’s opposition to EU financial support for Ukraine.
Energy companies have also confirmed that crude transit has resumed along the route, restoring a key supply line for refineries in the region. MOL Group, which operates major processing facilities in both Hungary and Slovakia, indicated that flows from Belarus into Ukraine have restarted, easing pressure on alternative supply routes.
The resumption of Druzhba operations is expected to stabilize regional oil logistics, although the political and economic tensions surrounding the outage have highlighted the continued vulnerability of critical energy infrastructure to geopolitical developments.
