-- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country has made significant progress in restoring the Druzhba oil pipeline, with repairs expected to be completed in spring, Reuters reported Friday, citing remarks released by his office.
Ukraine will complete that as agreed and aim to finish the work by spring, Zelenskyy said, adding that much of the work has already been completed, but repairs to destroyed storage tanks have taken longer, the report said.
Ukraine has been accused by Hungary and Slovakia of trying to delay pipeline repairs, a claim Kyiv has denied.
Both countries have lost access to deliveries of Russian oil through the pipeline since late January, when the pipeline became a target of a Russian drone strike in western Ukraine, the report said. Hungary and Slovakia have had a close political and energy relationship with Russia since the latter's invasion of Ukraine.
Hungary has opposed a 90-billion-euro ($103 billion) European Union loan to Ukraine until pipeline flows are resumed, the report added.
has reached out to Ukraine's Energy Ministry for a comment.
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