EU approves €90bn loan for Ukraine as pipeline is turned on ending deadlock

EU ambassadors in Brussels granted preliminary approval to a €90 billion loan for Ukraine hours after Kyiv resumed pumping Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline into Hungary and Slovakia.

The restart ended months of deadlock. Hungary’s Viktor Orbán had vetoed the December-agreed package in February after damage from a Russian attack halted supplies. He explicitly demanded oil deliveries resume before any payout and accused Ukraine of imposing an “oil blockade” on Hungary and Slovakia.

Ukrainian officials confirmed repairs were completed on Tuesday. Pressurization began Wednesday morning at 12:35 local time, with crude oil expected to reach Slovakia on Thursday for the first time since January 27 and Hungary by the same day at the latest. Hungarian energy firm Mol anticipated first supplies then.

Orbán, acting as caretaker leader after his election defeat, had stated that once oil flowed again “we will no longer stand in the way of approving the loan”. His successor, Péter Magyar, prioritised resetting ties with Brussels.

Two-thirds of the €90 billion will bolster Ukraine’s defence needs. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka called the funding “a matter of life and death” for Kyiv. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said “Ukraine really needs this loan and it’s also a sign that Russia cannot outlast Ukraine”.

The sequence reveals the EU funnelling massive taxpayer funds to Ukraine’s war effort while Russian oil revenue resumes flowing to member states Hungary and Slovakia.