War in Ukraine: the EU gives its first green light to a 90 billion loan to kyiv, after the Hungarian agreement

The European Union (EU) gave a first green light this Wednesday to the payment of a loan of 90 billion euros to Ukraine, diplomatic sources indicated. Cyprus, which holds the six-monthly presidency of the EU Council, announced that it had launched the procedure aimed at leading to an agreement by the 27, and allowing the first payments of this loan, blocked until now by Hungary.

Budapest has given its agreement to the launch of this procedure, which will end on Thursday, but has always conditioned its final agreement on the resumption of deliveries of Russian oil, via an oil pipeline which crosses Ukraine and which kyiv restarted this Wednesday.

“No oil, no money”

The Druzhba (friendship in Russian) pipeline, which transports this crude, crosses Ukraine, where it was damaged by Russian strikes in January. Hungary then accused kyiv of dragging its feet in repairing it and deciding to block the payment of this loan, as long as it was not again supplied with Russian oil. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, also largely defeated in the legislative elections on April 12, accused kyiv of dragging its feet in repairing it and in retaliation blocked the European loan for Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured this Tuesday that “Druzhba” was now repaired. Certainly, but as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán summed up: “no oil, no money”. The Druzhba oil pipeline resumed the transit of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia at midday. Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova said the first deliveries of Russian oil were expected in the early hours of Thursday morning.