Slovakia, following Hungary, is halting diesel exports to Ukraine

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has ordered a halt to diesel exports to Ukraine due to the shutdown of the Druzhba pipeline.

This was reported on the Government of Slovakia website.

The Slovak government also decided to release 250,000 tons of oil from reserves after supplies through Druzhba stopped as a result of Russian attacks. (On January 27, Russia struck an infrastructure facility in Brody in Lviv Oblast. The city of Brody is a junction point for the Druzhba and Odesa–Brody pipeline pipelines.)

According to Fico, the government is taking this step to conserve fuel stocks for domestic use.

“Slovnaft is stopping diesel exports to Ukraine and any other exports, and everything it processes at home, in Slovakia, will now be intended for the Slovak market,” the prime minister said.

Fico assured that there is no risk of shortages of fuel or other petroleum products in Slovakia. He added that releasing oil from the state reserve will help Slovnaft get through the period until oil supplies arrive from Croatia.

The transit of Russian crude oil via the Druzhba pipeline through Ukraine has been halted since the end of last month amid large-scale Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Slovakia and Hungary accuse Ukraine of being responsible for the stoppage.

Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said his country would stop supplying diesel to Ukraine until Druzhba operations resume.

Previously, Budapest and Bratislava asked Croatia to allow supplies of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia via the Adria pipeline.

Meanwhile, Slovakia has declared a state of emergency in the oil sector due to the lack of oil supplies.