Today, Ukraine opened up the Druzhba pipeline, ending the blockage of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. Kiev had maintained for almost 3 months that it was simply a physical impossibility to transit the oil, due to the Russians damaging the pipeline. They had further refused to allow Hungary, Slovakia or even Kiev’s European allies to inspect and confirm the alleged damage. It was widely assumed that Kiev was simply trying to create economic hardship for Hungary, so as to undermine the electoral chance of Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban.
Today’s opening occurred in the wake of the electoral defeat of Hungary’s Viktor Orban and the EU’s approval of an interest-free ‘loan’ of $105 billion for Ukraine to continue the proxy war. It is expected to cover 2/3 of Ukraine’s expenses for the next two years and Kiev is never expected to repay the ‘loan.’ Acting president Vladimir Zelensky posted yesterday that repairs on the pipeline had now been completed and that it was ready to resume operations.
