Overview
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa said Ukraine accepted EU technical and financial support, with experts available immediately and an EU group set to visit the damage on March 18.
- Russian strikes in January damaged the line and halted crude flows to landlocked Hungary and Slovakia, and Kyiv has for the first time allowed an external inspection after previously rejecting a Hungarian delegation.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a letter to EU leaders, estimated repairs to the Brody pumping station could take roughly one to one and a half months absent further attacks and tasked Naftogaz to work with EU experts while exploring non‑Russian supply routes.
- Hungary continues to block a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine and the bloc’s 20th sanctions package, with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reiterating that he will not lift vetoes until oil deliveries resume.
- An initial EU line explicitly tying pipeline repairs to the loan and new sanctions was removed from the published statement, even as several EU capitals expressed hope that progress on Druzhba could unlock decisions at this week’s leaders’ summit.