Slovakia Says Druzhba Oil Flows Could Resume Today After Strike Halt

Russian crude deliveries to Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline could restart as early as Monday, Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova said. Flows were halted last Thursday after Ukraine struck Russia’s Unecha pumping station, a key node on the Europe-bound line. Sakova told reporters the outage is expected to last four to five days and that, under a best-case scenario, supplies would resume today. She added that domestic customers face no immediate risk because Slovakia holds about 90 days’ worth of oil and refined-product reserves. The disruption is the second to hit Slovakia and neighbouring Hungary in a week, underscoring the vulnerability of the region’s energy supplies as Russia and Ukraine escalate attacks on energy infrastructure. Bratislava and Budapest have asked the European Commission to help safeguard deliveries even as the European Union seeks to phase out Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.