Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that a pipeline carrying Russian oil through Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia and damaged in Moscow’s strikes would reopen by the end of April.

“As for the oil pipeline, as we promised, it will be repaired by the end of April — not completely, but enough for it to function,” Zelensky told reporters in Berlin, adding he was ready to meet with Hungary’s prime minister-elect, Peter Magyar.

The status of the pipeline had been a major source of tension between Zelensky — who wants all EU countries to stop buying Russian energy — and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, who had heavily criticised the Ukrainian leader throughout the election campaign.

AFP