FT learned about the EC's request to Kiev to provide access to Druzhba for damage assessment

Some European Union (EU) governments have asked Ukraine to provide access to the Druzhba pipeline in order to assess the damage and ensure that Kiev is working to restore it. This was reported on March 3 by the Financial Times (FT) newspaper.

"We cannot say whether there is damage or not. There are very simple ways to document this and show that they are doing their best to fix it. They didn't do it," the newspaper quoted a senior European official as saying.

The article notes that the President of the European Commission (EC) Ursula von der Leyen and the head of the European Council Antonio Costa also appealed to the leadership of Ukraine with this request during their visit to Kiev on February 24, but were refused.

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Earlier in the day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the restoration of the Druzhba oil pipeline would be possible only in the event of a cease-fire. He said that he allegedly explained the reasons for the refusal of repairs to the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico.

Cypriot journalist Alex Christoforou, in turn, said that the European Union should force Zelensky to resume oil supplies via the Druzhba oil pipeline.

On February 26, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban demanded that the EU check the condition of the Druzhba pipeline. He expressed the opinion that the assessment of the condition of the Druzhba pipeline could help unlock financing for Ukraine from the EU.

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