BRUSSELS — Slovakia wants the European Commission to investigate Ukrainian claims that a critical pipeline supplying oil to Slovakia and Hungary was blown up in a Russian airstrike, amid growing diplomatic tensions that threaten emergency funding to Kyiv.
Ukrainian authorities say the Druzhba pipeline has been offline since late January after it was damaged by a Russian attack. But Slovakia and Hungary, which depend on the pipeline for Russian oil imports, argue Kyiv has halted oil flows for political purposes and have threatened to block EU sanctions on Russia along with a key €90 billion loan to Ukraine.
On Monday, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár said Slovakia had asked the EU’s energy commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, to inspect the pipeline to see if it was operational, and “whether the damage is of such a scale that oil supplies cannot continue.”
The move effectively puts the ball in Brussels’ court as it mulls a response to the brewing crisis. Late on Monday, Slovakia halted its emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine, whose own energy sector is in crisis after years of Russian bombardment.
