The Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), made up of representatives of all 27 EU member states in Brussels, has preliminarily approved the disbursement of the 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine and the twentieth package of sanctions on Russia. The final green light should arrive on Thursday from the EU Council.
The reopening of the pipeline and the yes of Hungary and Slovakia
After months of stalemate, Hungary and Slovakia have decided to drop the veto, thanks to the reopening of the Druzhba oil pipeline damaged in January by a Russian drone attack and since then interrupted. Hungarian oil group Mol said on Wednesday it had been informed by Kiev that crude flows would resume.
An industry source told Reuters that oil started flowing again at 11.35am. A few minutes later – and perhaps it is no coincidence – the news of the agreement arrived from Brussels. It goes without saying that Viktor Orbán’s defeat in the Hungarian elections also had an impact (although the new prime minister Peter Magyar has not yet taken office).
Zelensky: “A right signal, it is important that the package becomes operational immediately”
The news of the agreement was commented on X by Volodymyr Zelensky who spoke of a “right signal”. “Russia must end its war” he wrote in the post published on his social channels.
“Ukraine is fulfilling its obligations in relations with the European Union, even on such sensitive issues as the operation of the Druzhba gas pipeline,” Zelensky added. “We expect the European side to also provide what is needed for the real protection of lives and to advance Ukraine’s European integration. It is important that the European aid package becomes operational quickly.”
Implementation of our agreement with the European Union to unblock a €90 billion support package for Ukraine over two years is now effectively underway, as well as a new sanctions package against Russia over this war. The unblocking is the right signal under the current…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 22, 2026