Slovakia says Druzhba oil supplies interrupted, expected to resume in coming days
Slovakia has seen an interruption of oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline into eastern Europe but expects the renewal of flows in the coming days, the Slovak economy ministry said on Friday.
The ministry said the interruption did not affect Slovakia's energy security and gave no further details on the length of the expected suspension of flows.
Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Thursday that Russian oil transit to Eastern Europe via the Ukrainian part of the Druzhba oil pipeline had been suspended since January 27 due to a Russian attack.
The suspension also impacts Hungary, whose oil and gas group MOL runs refineries in both Hungary and Slovakia. Slovak refiner Slovnaft could not immediately be reached for comment.
Ukraine accused of holding up flows. Hungary and Slovakia both still rely on Russian energy supplies and have fought European Union efforts to end those flows and cut Moscow off from oil and gas revenue funding its war with Ukraine.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Friday accused Ukraine of holding up the resumption of flows.
"President Zelenskiy has decided, for political reasons, that he will continue not to permit the resumption of crude oil deliveries to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline, even though the pipeline is technically fully capable of resuming deliveries," he said on Facebook.
Ukraine has lost almost all of its thermal power plants because of Russian attacks on facilities, and restrictions on energy supplies to the population and businesses are in place throughout the country.
The Kremlin on Friday declined to comment on a Ukrainian accusation that Russia had struck the Soviet-built Druzhba oil pipeline and halted flows to Eastern Europe.
"We do not have precise information," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, referring a question on the matter to Russia's energy ministry.
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