EU experts still awaiting permits to inspect Druzhba pipeline
REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
An EU technical team that arrived in Ukraine on March 18 to
inspect the damaged section of the Druzhba
oil pipeline has not been granted access to the site and is waiting in
Kyiv, Suspilne public broadcaster reported on March 27.
In correspondence with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is ready to accept "technical and financial assistance" to repair the pipeline, the report said.
On March 18, an EU official told Suspilne that a group of experts from several EU countries had come to assess damage to the Druzhba pipeline after the January Russian drone strike. The same day, Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said access to the sites is handled by Ukraine’s SBU security service.
The Druzhba 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.
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