OREANDA-NEWS   The European Union (EU) has considered providing financial assistance to Ukraine for the restoration of the Druzhba oil pipeline. This is reported by Bloomberg.

The European Commission (EC), the bloc's executive body, may allocate funds from the budget to support Kiev, as Hungary and Slovakia will block Kiev's support and sanctions against Russia until pipeline supplies resume.

According to Sergey Koretsky, CEO of the Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz, in January Russia attacked a fuel storage tank. The fire was extinguished for 10 days, while equipment, power cables, transformers and a leak detection system were damaged. Given the scale of the destruction, Kiev cannot yet specify the time frame for repairs. However, Hungary and Slovakia accused Ukraine of obstructing supplies, questioning the extent of the damage.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has promised to block EU loans worth 90 billion euros (106 billion dollars) for Kiev until supplies resume. Slovakia has stopped emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. Both countries have also blocked the latest package of EU sanctions against Moscow.

According to sources, the EU is negotiating with Kiev on the possibility of sending a fact-finding mission to assess the damage caused to Druzhba.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called the absence of hostilities a condition for the resumption of oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline. According to Zelensky, he explained to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico that "the pipeline has been destroyed" and "a cease-fire is necessary to restore it."