The European Union has cleared the way for a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, with a final sign-off expected on Thursday, after oil flow via the disputed Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia resumed early on Thursday, according to the Slovak authorities.
Diplomats said the definitive sign-off should come on Thursday.
The feud over the pipeline pitted Hungary's nationalist premier Viktor Orban against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stalling the release of urgently needed funds for Kyiv. Resolving the stand-off will allow Brussels to start paying out the loan in the coming months.
"Implementation of our agreement with the European Union to unblock a €90 billion support package for Ukraine over two years is now effectively underway," Zelensky, who is expected to join a summit of EU leaders in Cyprus on Thursday, posted online.
"The unblocking is the right signal under the current circumstances. Russia must end its war."
Pumping oil
Slovakia started receiving crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline early on Thursday, the country's Economy Ministry said, confirming the end of a months-long outage after what Ukraine said was a Russian strike on the pipeline.
"The Economy Ministry informs that today at 2am the reception of oil to Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline was resumed," a ministry statement said.
The Druzhba pipeline has become one of the most politically charged pieces of infrastructure in Europ, since the halt in Russian oil deliveries to Hungary and Slovakia in January.
Kremlin-friendly Orban, who suffered a crushing election defeat this month, had vowed that he would not budge until Ukraine repaired the pipeline hit by a Russian strike.
Oil through the Ukrainian section of the pipeline started flowing on Wednesday, prompting Hungary to lift its veto on the EU loan.
Zelensky has made no secret of his opposition to the fact that some EU members still buy Russian oil and gas, a key source of revenue for Moscow to fund its invasion.
Sanctions approved
The row with Hungary has held up EU support for Ukraine at a time when the United States has largely cut Kyiv off and eased sanctions on Russian oil amid the Iran war.
Orban's loss in the elections after 16 years in power fuelled hopes the funds would be unlocked and the EU could move past the frequent blockages experienced during his tenure.
But EU officials had believed they might have to wait until his pro-EU successor Peter Magyar took office in May to get it approved.
EU countries also gave the preliminary go-ahead to a fresh round of sanctions on Russia that had been stalled by both Hungary and Slovakia over the pipeline row.
The new round of economic punishment for Moscow – the 20th from the EU since the war started in 2022 – includes measures on Russia's energy, banking and trade sectors.
Zelensky on Tuesday urged the EU to begin ratcheting up sanctions on Moscow again, at a time when US President Donald Trump has eased pressure on the Kremlin.
(with newswires)
