The Druzhba pipeline, which has traditionally transported significant volumes of russian oil, has also been used to supply Ukrainian raw materials to Europe.
Three industry sources familiar with the situation said this to Reuters.
According to them, Ukrainian oil exports continued until January 27, when pumping was stopped after a strike on pumping stations in the west of Ukraine.
The use of the Druzhba to supply Ukrainian oil to Hungary and Slovakia was not previously disclosed. The suspension has deprived Ukraine of a source of export revenue needed to cover its budget deficit. According to the agency's interlocutors, if production remains at the same level, the lack of export opportunities may force Kyiv to stop production.
The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine did not provide an immediate comment. Since February 2022, Kyiv has classified all data on oil refining and exports.
In 2021, Ukraine produced about 1.7 million tons of oil. Significant volumes were also imported, which were processed at the 19 million-ton-per-year Kremenchuk refinery and several small enterprises.
After the start of active operations in February 2022, Ukrainian refineries were attacked. The destruction of the last refining capacity in mid-2025, according to one source, forced traders to increase fuel imports and created a problem with domestically produced oil.
Lacking domestic capacity, Ukraine was forced to export raw materials. The only available route was the Druzhba pipeline. The section of the network that runs through the territory of Ukraine belongs to the State Property Fund
The current level of oil production in the country is unknown. Ukrainian media reported that Ukrnafta, the largest oil company, produced 1.4 million tons in 2024, about the same as the year before.
According to a second source, before the January strike, Ukraine was pumping about 40,000 tons of its own oil into the pipeline every month. Other interlocutors confirmed the fact of exports, but did not name the volumes. All three sources requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.
The oil was pumped into a pipeline near Brody in the west of the country for further transportation to Europe. The raw materials were delivered to refineries of the Hungarian company MOL. The corporation did not respond to a request for information about the Ukrainian oil and its volumes. The governments of Hungary and Slovakia also did not provide immediate comments.
While other EU countries have abandoned russian oil, Hungary and Slovakia have remained dependent on supplies from russia. They accuse Kyiv of deliberately delaying the resumption of pumping. Budapest has also accused Ukraine of interfering in the elections, delayed the disbursement of a EUR 90 billion loan that Kyiv is counting on, and blocked a new package of EU sanctions against russia.
The southern branch of the pipeline, built in the 1960s, has traditionally been used to supply russian oil to Central Europe. Moscow has accused Kyiv of threatening the region's energy security by stopping pumping.
After 2022 and the imposition of sanctions, Druzhba, which is capable of pumping more than 2 million barrels per day, lost its former importance. Transit through the southern branch in 2025 fell to a decade low of 9.7 million tons, according to Kyiv-based consulting company Expro. Slovakia received 4.9 million tons, Hungary 4.35 million. The Czech Republic refused russian oil in April 2025.
The northern branch, which used to feed Poland, is now lightly loaded and is used to pump Kazakh oil to Germany
Ukraine has long planned to use Druzhba to transport Caspian oil to Europe. In 2002, the Odesa-Brody pipeline was built to connect Black Sea terminals with Druzhba, but it was hardly used. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that this section has also been attacked.
Brussels did not take sides in the dispute over the pumping shutdown, but urged Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban not to block the loan deal for Ukraine. The European Commission plans to submit a proposal for a permanent ban on russian oil imports on April 15.
Slovakia announced the suspension of the pipeline on February 13. The supply of russian oil was stopped in January.
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