Russian oil has returned. The “Friendship” pipeline works again

The transmission of oil by pipeline “Friendship” was resumed after a break caused by the attacks of Ukrainian drones on Russian energy infrastructure. On Tuesday late in the evening, both the authorities of Slovakia and Hungary confirmed.

Resumed flow

The Minister of Economy of Slovakia Denis Sakova announced that oil flow in her country is already taking place in a standard mode. Similar information was provided by the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who announced in social media that he personally thanked the Russian Energy Deputy Minister Paweł Sorokin for quickly removing the effects of attacks and restoring the transmission system.

Deliveries were suspended after the pumping stations that support the pipeline were attacked in the Bryan and Tambowski circuits in Russia. In recent months, Ukraine has intensified impacts into Russian energy infrastructure, which is one of the main sources of financing the war conducted by the Kremlin. The “Friendship” pipeline has been one of the most important raw material transmission routes from Russia to Europe for decades.

Russian oil

Slovakia and Hungary belong to a few European Union countries, which still import a significant part of oil by this way. While most member states have limited or completely abandoned deliveries from Russia, these two countries maintain an energetic dependence on the Eastern supplier. According to estimates, most of the oil they use are imported from Russia.

As Reuters reminds, the sale of oil and gas is responsible for about a quarter of Russia’s budget revenues. That is why each disturbance of transmission is a serious problem for Moscow, and at the same time shows the importance of energy connections between Russia and part of EU countries.

The resumption of deliveries to Slovakia and Hungary restored the stability of local markets, but at the same time realized that both countries remain largely dependent on Russian raw material.