Hungary and Slovakia Form Joint Committee to Investigate Druzhba Pipeline Damage

In a significant development, Hungary and Slovakia have decided to create a joint committee to delve into the damage inflicted upon the Druzhba pipeline located in Ukraine. Both nations have called on Kyiv to facilitate access and restart the halted Russian oil supplies.

Amid ongoing geopolitical strains, the pipeline has been non-operational since January 27, prompting Hungary and Slovakia, the sole EU nations still dependent on Russian oil, to diversify their sourcing and tap into their reserves. While Ukraine cites a Russian drone strike as the culprit, Hungary and Slovakia attribute the outage to political maneuvering by Kyiv.

Prime Ministers Viktor Orban and Robert Fico have expressed their intentions to propose the committee to the European Commission, emphasizing their rights to continued oil supplies. Fico is also set to discuss the situation with Ukraine's President Zelenskiy, with ongoing tensions around energy supplies evident.