Czech Republic ready to lead mission to inspect damaged Druzhba pipeline

The Czech Republic is prepared to lead a mission to assess the condition of the Druzhba oil pipeline damaged in Russian attacks in Ukraine, Industry Minister Karel Havlíček said in Brussels on Monday.

According to Havlíček, Ukraine should allow a group of European experts to visit the site. He said the Czech Republic is ready to assemble a team of professionals, for example from the state fuel distributor Čepro, capable of evaluating the situation.

Russian oil has not been flowing through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary since January 27, when Kyiv says it was damaged by a Russian strike. Bratislava and Budapest accuse Ukraine of intentionaly delaying the pipeline’s restoration and attempting to influence Hungary’s parliamentary elections in April, in which Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is fighting to remain in power.