February 19, 2026

The European Union will not pressure Ukraine or set deadlines for repairs on the Druzhba oil pipeline damaged in a Russian strike, European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said on Feb. 19.

Itkonen told reporters the EU does not see short-term risks to oil supplies for Hungary and Slovakia, noting both countries have about 90 days’ emergency stockpile of crude.

“We are not pushing, we are not pressuring, and we are not giving Ukraine a deadline for this,” Ikonen said. She added that the commission is in contact with both EU member states and Ukraine on the matter.

Itkonen said the situation must be viewed in context: over more than four years of war, Russia has strategically and systematically used and damaged Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. She praised Ukraine’s efforts to repair and restore infrastructure, largely with support mobilized by EU member states and the European Commission, to keep hospitals and homes heated and industry running.

On Feb. 12, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said shipments of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline were halted on Jan. 27 after a Russian attack.

“Hungary did not lodge any protest with Russia about this; they couldn’t even say the word ‘Russia,” the minister said.

Slovak PM Robert Fico on Feb. 15 blamed Ukraine for delaying a restart of the Druzhba pipeline after the Russian strike. On Feb. 16, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Budapest and Bratislava had asked Croatia to ensure transit of Russian oil via the Adria pipeline instead of Druzhba.

Szijjártó said Feb. 18 that Hungary had suspended diesel supplies to Ukraine until oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline resume; Slovakia’s government made a similar decision. Fico also threatened to stop selling electricity to Ukraine.

https://english.nv.ua/nation/eu-won-t-pressure-kyiv-to-repair-druzhba-oil-pipeline-50585404.html