Ukraine has completed repairs on the Druzhba pipeline and is ready to resume Russian oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Tuesday. The move ends a months-long dispute that had delayed a €90bn EU loan to Kyiv. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian specialists ensured the pipeline's basic operational conditions.

Russia had damaged the pipeline infrastructure in January with an air strike, according to Kyiv. Ukrainian state oil group Naftogaz shared photographs showing a storage tank holding 75,000 cubic metres of oil in flames. Hungary and Slovakia had claimed Kyiv intentionally halted exports and delayed the EU loan approval until flows resumed.

Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orbán indicated he would lift his veto on the €90bn loan once oil deliveries restarted. Slovak foreign minister Juraj Blanár said his government would drop its veto on new Russia sanctions once Russian oil arrives via the pipeline. The dispute had created significant tension within the EU as member states struggled to balance energy security with support for Ukraine.