President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Friday that repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline are underway and expected to be completed this spring, potentially ending a bitter standoff with Hungary over energy transit and European Union funding.

The Druzhba pipeline, a critical artery delivering Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia via Ukrainian territory, has been offline since late January, with Kyiv officials reporting that the infrastructure was heavily damaged during a Russian drone strike in western Ukraine.

"We will complete the repairs because that is the agreement," Zelenskyy said during a briefing. "I told the European Union we would finish this spring."

The outage sparked a diplomatic firestorm. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán accused Kyiv of intentionally withholding transit to interfere in Hungary’s domestic politics ahead of Sunday’s elections. 

In retaliation, Budapest blocked a proposed €90-billion EU loan package intended for Ukraine.

While Zelenskyy confirmed that many repairs have been finalized, he noted that storage tanks destroyed in the strike cannot be replaced quickly due to persistent Russian aerial attacks. 

He also signaled a pragmatic shift, suggesting Ukraine would agree to restore the transit if the flow of EU financial aid remained tied to the pipeline's operational status.

However, the Ukrainian leader remained vocal about the ethical dilemma of maintaining the Russian-linked infrastructure.

"I am being forced to restart Druzhba," Zelenskyy said, echoing remarks he made in March. 

"How is that any different from lifting sanctions on the Russians? Do we sell Russian oil, or do we not?"

In Brussels, the European Commission confirmed it is "following the developments closely" but refrained from commenting on the specific timeline, noting only that they are "roughly synchronized" with Kyiv regarding the seasonal deadline.

The announcement comes at a sensitive time for the region. Orbán has centered his re-election campaign on the pipeline, framing it as a matter of national sovereignty and accusing Zelenskyy of dishonesty. 

Zelenskyy, however, dismissed these claims on Friday, stating that Hungary's elections are an internal matter and the timing of the repairs is purely technical.