The EU mission in Kyiv is handling logistics for the inspection, the outlets said. EU officials told RFE/RL that the engineers conducting the review will not represent Hungary or Slovakia to avoid any appearance of bias.
European diplomats previously said unblocking a EUR90 billion ($104 billion) EU loan to Ukraine, currently blocked by Hungary may depend on restoring at least partial operation of the pipeline or allowing European experts access to evaluate its condition.
The pipeline has been inactive since a January Russian
attack on western Ukraine which damaged some of its pumping and storage
infrastructure. Hungary and Slovakia (both have EU waivers to keep importing
Russian crude) dispute Ukraine’s assessment of the extent of the damage and the
timeline for repairs, eager to see the deliveries of oil resume as soon as
possible.