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A month ago, an incident was reported on the Druzhba pipeline, affecting flows of cheap Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukraine.
Ukraine blamed ongoing Russian strikes for the blaze, saying the constant pounding from the air is delaying repair works. But Budapest and Bratislava accused Kyiv of lying.
And last Wednesday, they retaliated by halting their own diesel exports to Ukraine until the pipeline is restored.
Two days later, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orbán said it would block a crucial €90-billion EU emergency loan to Ukraine.
And amid Russian attacks that have devastated its internal power grid, Kyiv relies heavily on imported electricity to survive the winter. Almost half (45%) of those imports come directly from Hungary, with Slovakia as another supplier.
Then, on Monday, Ukrainian forces struck a key Russian pumping station feeding that Druzhba pipeline, aiming to bleed Moscow of funds for its war machine.
In response, Slovakia and Hungary demanded that Brussels investigate whether Kyiv lied about the original damage and whether the EU completely halted emergency electricity to Ukraine.
Which finally brings us to today.
The European Commission is holding an emergency meeting with Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia — which runs a pipeline through the Adriatic — to try and find alternative oil routes.
But with Croatia refusing to transport Russian oil, it seems the EU’s diplomatic pipeline is completely blocked.
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