Ukraine has restricted oil supplies to Europe through the Druzhba pipeline, the last route for Russian oil to reach Europe. According to Reuters, Hungary and Slovakia have now threatened to sue Ukraine over the blockade, which has hit Russian oil company Lukoil.
Until 2022, Russia supplied a third of all oil supplied to Europe. After the war in Ukraine began, supplies decreased significantly, but still about 300,000 barrels of oil were pumped daily through pipelines to Europe.
The main buyers were the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, which are exempt from Brussels' oil sanctions against Russia due to their dependence on Russian oil and limited alternative sources of supply as they are landlocked. Poland and Germany, which have sea terminals, have stopped purchasing Russian pipeline oil.
Reuters notes that Russia did not suffer significant losses from the fact that Berlin and Warsaw refused supplies through the Druzhba pipeline. Russia redirected most of these volumes to Asia, and China became the largest buyer of Russian oil, receiving about 2.14 million barrels per day through various routes.
Ukraine has previously restricted the operation of the Druzhba pipeline. For example, in 2023, tariffs for its use were increased several times, making the Druzhba route one of the least profitable for Russian companies. And since June, Lukoil, which provided 50% of the oil supplied through the pipeline, has been under Kyiv's sanctions.
