(Reuters) -Russian oil supplies to Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline, interrupted last Thursday after a Ukrainian attack in Russia, may resume as soon as Monday under the best-case scenario, Slovak Economy Minister Denisa Sakova said.
Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure, hitting Ukrainian domestic heating supplies, Russia’s Druzhba pipeline and other facilities, over the past few weeks.
Slovakia and Hungary said on Friday that their supplies of Russian oil could be suspended for at least five days after a Ukrainian strike on a facility in Russia.
“According to the latest information, this is an outage for four-five days,” Sakova said in an emailed response to Reuters questions. “We can, in an optimum case, expect resumption of supplies to Slovakia already on Monday.”
She said supplies to customers were not under threat, given the country’s 90-day reserves of oil and oil products.
The European Union reduced energy supplies from Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is seeking to phase out Russian oil and gas by the end of 2027.
Slovakia and Hungary have maintained relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and opposed sanctions against Russia that Ukraine says are vital to make Moscow drop war demands it terms unacceptable.
They also oppose the phase-out of Russian energy supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, saying they cannot rely on an alternative pipeline from Croatia’s Adriatic coast.
Slovakia and Hungary called on the European Commission on Friday to help guarantee security of supplies.
A Commission spokesperson said on Monday the Commission was in touch with member states to assess the situation, adding that supply security was a priority.
The Ukrainian strike on Thursday was the second time last week that Russian oil supplies have been cut to Hungary and Slovakia.
Ukraine’s military said late on Thursday it had struck the Unecha oil pumping station, a critical part of the Europe-bound pipeline.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague, additional reporting by Kate Abnett in Brussels; Editing by Jan Harvey)
