Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused European allies of seeking to “blackmail” Kyiv into reopening a pipeline transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
He said restoring the flow of Russian crude oil through Ukraine into the European Union (EU) would be like lifting economic sanctions on Moscow.
The EU has urged Zelensky to repair the pipeline quickly and is asking him to allow inspectors in to visit the damage. Some EU officials fear Zelensky’s resistance may help Orban win re-election.
But talking to reporters in Kyiv, including the BBC, Zelensky said he was simply opposed in principle to allowing Russian oil to transit through Ukraine while the EU sanctioned its sale elsewhere.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused European allies of seeking to “blackmail” Kyiv into reopening a pipeline transporting Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia.
He said restoring the flow of Russian crude oil through Ukraine into the European Union (EU) would be like lifting economic sanctions on Moscow.
The EU has urged Zelensky to repair the pipeline quickly and is asking him to allow inspectors in to visit the damage. Some EU officials fear Zelensky’s resistance may help Orban win re-election.
But talking to reporters in Kyiv, including the BBC, Zelensky said he was simply opposed in principle to allowing Russian oil to transit through Ukraine while the EU sanctioned its sale elsewhere.