Slovakia has been without oil from the east for almost three months, but that could soon change. The statements of the representatives of the outgoing Hungarian government indicate a turn in this direction. The Hungarian Minister for European Affairs, János Boka, even declared that Kyiv should resume oil transit through the Druzhba during Tuesday. In the meantime, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the social network that this key oil pipeline has been repaired and its operation can be resumed. However, we are still waiting for official statements from the key players.
At the same time, even if Družba is put into operation, it could take several weeks for the oil to physically flow through the pipelines to Slovakia. Therefore, Pravda turned to the Ministry of Economy with the question of whether they have knowledge that would shed more light on the situation. “Transpetrol, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economy, does not currently register the resumption of oil supplies via the Družba pipeline to Slovakia. The Ministry of Economy will inform the public in the event of a change,” explained ministry spokeswoman Mária Pavlusík.
The company Transpetrol is key in this matter because, as the state operator of the Slovak section of the oil pipeline infrastructure, it has the most accurate overview of whether oil actually flows to our territory, in what volume and with what stability. It is this company that manages the transportation of raw materials through Slovakia, and its data therefore represent a significantly more reliable picture than political statements from Hungary, Kiev or Moscow. Therefore, if Transpetrol does not register the resumption of supplies, it means that the announced turnaround has not yet been reflected in the physical flow of oil – simply, oil is still not flowing to us through Druzhba.
Nevertheless, there have been signs in Brussels that a shift could come very soon. European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kosová indicated at the beginning of this week that the dispute over Druzhba could be resolved in the next few days.
In addition, Moscow has also joined the debate in the meantime. “Russia is still technically ready and we have contractual obligations to Hungary. However, after the Kyiv regime started blackmail, these deliveries were suspended. Everything depends on the Kyiv regime,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In addition, information from sources from the environment of the Ukrainian army and intelligence agencies say that soldiers from a neighboring country hit an important gas station of the Druzhba pipeline on Russian territory, specifically in the Samara region, with drones. This oil distribution station belongs to the Transneft – Druzhba system, which can complicate the completion of the Urals export mix and the fulfillment of Russian contracts – that is, the Hungarian one as well.
The last official reference to this topic from Kyiv was made about a week ago, after the talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin. According to Zelenský, Druzhba should be functional again at the end of April – but he added that they will not be able to repair it completely by the end of the month. In any case, this means that oil should start flowing in the next few days.
Will Fico and Magyar find common ground?
At the same time, Hungary combined the restoration of oil supplies via Druzhba with the approval of a large loan package for Ukraine. At stake is 90 billion euros, which the European Union (EU) plans to lend to Kyiv to cover its financial needs in 2026 and 2027. “As soon as oil supplies are restored, we will no longer prevent the acceptance of the credit framework. Paying off the loan does not represent a financial burden or responsibility for Hungary,” said outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
The winner of the recent Hungarian elections, who will soon replace Orbán, Péter Magyar, called for the restoration of the Druzhba oil pipeline. “I am sending a message to President Zelensky, whom I have not yet spoken to and whom I do not know, that this is not a game. If the Druzhba pipeline is suitable for opening, let him send oil and the Russians will supply it, as everyone has committed to in the relevant contract. Ukraine should not be involved in blackmail, that is not a good attitude,” Magyar underlined.
However, the future Prime Minister of our southern neighbors expressed himself in a similar vein earlier. Shortly after the April elections, he said that in his office he would try to ensure the safest and cheapest oil. As for Russian oil, he has been saying for a long time that he plans to diversify, but he refuses to completely cut himself off from this source.
Magyar has a similar position on this issue, as officially declared by the Slovak government. Finally, Bratislava and Budapest have so far formed a tandem that, especially in Brussels, promoted the “common energy interests of both countries”.
Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) also officially intervened in the topic. He informed that he had a telephone conversation with the winner of the Hungarian elections. “The main reason for my phone call with Péter Magyar was to find out the positions of the new Hungarian political leadership regarding the reopening of the Družba pipeline and the lawsuit against the RePowerEU regulation, which the Slovak Republic and Hungary are filing against the EU in connection with the stoppage of the flow of Russian gas and oil,” the Prime Minister said.
However, Fico’s opinion also showed that the phone call did not provide clear answers to the questions that interested the prime minister the most. The Prime Minister pointed out that Magyar temporarily followed a cautious line. “Referring to the fact that he is not yet the official Prime Minister of Hungary, the winner of the Hungarian elections only answered my questions in a general way,” stated Fico. This means that Slovakia has not yet confirmed whether the new Hungarian cabinet will maintain the previous hard course in the matter of Družba and energy disputes with Brussels.
Germany will also lose Druzhba
Discussions about the further fate of Druzhba are taking place in the middle of the wider oil crisis. It started after the US-Israeli strikes on Iran at the end of February and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which, under normal circumstances, about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied gas supplies pass. The result was a sharp rise in oil prices on world markets, which gradually spilled over into fuel prices in Europe.
The situation around Druzhba is also complicated by new developments on its northern branch. The Reuters agency reported that Russia is going to stop the transportation of Kazakh oil to Germany through the aforementioned pipeline starting May 1. Moscow has already sent a revised export schedule to both Kazakhstan and Germany, according to three industry sources.
This would not be insignificant news for Berlin. Reuters reminds that Kazakhstan delivered over 2.1 million tons of oil to Germany through the Russian Druzhba system in 2025, that is, approximately 43,000 barrels per day, while only in the first quarter of 2026 it was another 730,000 tons. These volumes go mainly to the PCK refinery in Schwedt, which is one of the largest in the country and supplies most of the cars in the Berlin and Brandenburg region with fuel. A complete shutdown would knock out about 17 percent of the annual volume that the refinery processes, according to Reuters.
It is also important that it is not Russian oil in the classical sense of the word, but Kazakh raw material that flows to Germany through Russian infrastructure and along the northern branch of the Druzhba through Poland. It shows just how vulnerable the route remains, even though Berlin cut itself off from direct supplies of Russian oil after the invasion of Ukraine and the local assets of the Russian state company Rosneft were placed under state supervision, Germany’s supply is still partly dependent on a pipeline system controlled by Moscow. At the same time, Reuters reminds that these supplies have been repeatedly interrupted in the past by Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian part of the infrastructure.
