Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of fabricating obstacles to the restart of Druzhba and will send experts to assess the damage

Hungary and Slovakia have agreed to establish a joint investigation to examine damage to the Druzhba oil pipeline supplying crude from Russia, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday. The two countries have accused Ukraine of halting crude flows from Russia for political reasons.

The pipeline went offline in late January, with Kiev claiming it was damaged in Russian strikes - accusations Moscow has denied. Both Hungary and Slovakia have said Ukraine is deliberately withholding supplies, threatening retaliation.

Orban made the announcement on X following a phone call with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

"It's not only Hungary that is under oil blockade, but Slovakia as well," Orban stated, adding that the Druzhba pipeline is being "blocked" by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

According to both nations, Ukrainian claims of technical or operational obstacles to restarting the pipeline are false. "There are no technical or operational obstacles at all," Orban said.

The new expert mission will seek access to the site to assess the damage of the pipeline and "verify the situation with its own eyes," Orban wrote, calling on Zelensky to allow the inspection.

Hungary and Slovakia accused Ukraine of "lying" about damage to the Druzhba pipeline, suggesting that Kiev fabricated technical issues for political motives to force them off Russian energy.

The two EU members - the bloc's last remaining buyers of seaborne Russian crude - argue the reported strike did not affect the pipeline's core structure.

In an open letter to Zelensky on Thursday, Orban also accused Kiev of trying to oust him by triggering an energy crisis ahead of Hungarian parliamentary elections in April. Orban argued that Ukraine is refusing to resume supplies of Russian crude through the Soviet-built pipeline for that goal.

In response to Kiev "blackmailing" Hungary, Budapest last week vetoed the EU's planned €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan for Ukraine.

Amid the Druzhba oil pipeline standoff, Orban has ordered the deployment of military units and additional police to guard energy infrastructure near the Ukrainian border, citing intelligence from the country's security services about potential attacks.

Meanwhile, Croatia has offered to provide an alternate delivery route for Hungary and Slovakia using the Adria pipeline. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said Zagreb is currently in talks with the European Commission to assess whether it can lawfully import seaborne Russian crude oil to provide it to the two countries.

The Druzhba pipeline, one of the longest pipeline networks in the world, is the main artery that carries crude oil some 4,000 km from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia.

(RT.com)