Ukraine says all obstacles to EU's 90 billion euro loan removed, expects green light within days
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Ukraine said on April 21 that it hopes the EU will release a 90 billion euro ($106 billion) loan for Kyiv in the coming days, noting that all obstacles have been cleared.
"There are currently no obstacles, and even artificial barriers have been removed," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in remarks delivered online to a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
"The EU has the necessary tools to lift the blockade this week. We expect them to be used in the coming days," he said, without providing specifics.
The loan, a crucial financial lifeline amid Russian aggression, has been blocked by Hungary due to the halt of Russian oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline.
The pipeline had been offline since late January after Kyiv reported a Russian strike. Its suspension triggered tensions with Slovakia and Hungary, which depend heavily on the route for oil supplies.
Budapest and Bratislava accused Ukraine of withholding transit for political reasons, claims Kyiv rejected. Both countries escalated the standoff on Feb. 18 by halting diesel exports to Ukraine.
Outgoing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was seen as the EU's most Kremlin-friendly leader, centered his reelection campaign on accusations that Ukraine engaged in "energy blackmail."
Hungary has received indications from Brussels that Ukraine is ready to restore oil transit, according to a letter from Orban to European Council President Antonio Costa dated April 20.
Once transit resumes, Hungary will lift its veto of the loan "without delay," Orban added.
The agenda for the permanent representatives' meeting on 22 April now includes the final step required for loan disbursement, a spokesperson for the Cyprus Presidency of the EU Council said.
Kyiv has not yet formally confirmed whether the transit has resumed.
"I cannot say if it is legally fixed or not. I rely on the leadership of Naftogaz for this," Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka said when asked at an event with the European Policy Center think tank in Brussels.
"I hope that it can happen even today, but everything depends on technical teams."
Hungary and Slovakia, both landlocked, were the only EU members still receiving Russian crude via the pipeline's southern branch before the disruption. The route accounts for roughly 86–92% of Hungary's oil imports and nearly all of Slovakia's supply.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that Kyiv was prepared to restore oil transit if it was a condition for unlocking the EU loan, adding that repairs would be completed in the spring.
