Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky says that some European countries are trying to get Ukraine to open up a pipeline that sends oil to Hungary and Slovakia. He thinks that if Ukraine does this it will make the sanctions against Russia not as strong.
The pipeline they are talking about is called the Druzhba oil pipeline. The Soviet Union built this pipeline, and it carries oil through Ukraine to several European countries. It sends oil through Ukraine to other countries in Europe. Ukraine says that Russian air strikes damaged the Druzhba oil pipeline in January, and it still has not been repaired.
Hungary really needs energy and they are not letting the European Union put new sanctions on Russia. They are also waiting to approve a loan of 90 billion euros to Ukraine until the pipeline is open again. Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has been criticizing Ukraine a lot before the elections in Hungary in April. His party is not doing well in the polls now.
EU officials worry that if Ukraine does not quickly repair the Druzhba oil pipeline, it could help Viktor Orbán win the election. So the European Union is asking Ukraine to fix the pipeline and let people check to see what is wrong with it.
Volodymyr Zelensky does not want to let Russian oil go through Ukraine while Europe is putting sanctions on Russia. He thinks this does not make sense. If Europe is sanctioning oil then letting it go through Ukraine is like canceling out those sanctions. Know More
Volodymyr Zelensky says that if European allies force Ukraine to reopen the Druzhba oil pipeline while threatening to reduce military support, it would amount to blackmail. He says that the European Union already agreed to give Ukraine a loan of 90 billion euros and they should do it no matter what happens with the pipeline.
At the time Volodymyr Zelensky is talking about how Ukraine is getting better at making drones. He says that drones are like a kind of oil for Ukraine. Ukraine has gotten very good at making and using drones to protect itself from drone attacks.
Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine is ready to work with the United States to make drones together. They want to make a deal that’s worth 50 billion dollars. The United States has been talking to Ukraine a lot about working especially because many countries want to know how to protect themselves from drones made by Iran. Read More
Volodymyr Zelensky also worries that increased fighting in the Middle East could hurt Ukraine. He thinks that the United States might focus more on the Middle East and send help to Ukraine.
He is also not happy about the United States deciding to lift some sanctions on Russian oil. Volodymyr Zelensky thinks that this will not help make the world more stable. It will help Russia. The United States says that this will only last until April 11. A Russian official says that this shows that Russia is still very important, for the worlds energy.
