BRUSSELS — Ukraine has accepted EU technical and financial support to repair the damaged Druzhba oil pipeline, in a bid to restore oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia.
The agreement comes two days before EU leaders meet in Brussels and could help ease tensions that prompted Hungary to block a €90 billion ($104 billion) EU loan to Ukraine.
“The EU has offered Ukraine technical support and funding,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa said in a joint statement. “The Ukrainians have welcomed and accepted this offer. European experts are available immediately.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed Kyiv’s backing for the plan, writing in a letter to EU leaders that he “welcome[s] and accept[s]” the EU’s offer of “necessary technical support and funding” to complete repairs and explore longer-term solutions.
