Druzhba pipeline severely damaged by oil fire following Russian UAV strike – Shmyhal
The Druzhba oil pipeline was severely damaged internally due to the combustion of a large volume of oil following a strike by a Russian drone, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Denys Shmyhal announced.
"A significant portion of the pipeline’s internal equipment, various sensors, and other components inside the pipeline were damaged by high temperatures. This is not visible from the outside, but it represents a massive amount of work. Currently, Naftogaz is finalizing the fault detection process," Shmyhal said during a briefing following Tuesday’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) meeting regarding the Comprehensive Resilience Plan for Ukrainian cities and regions.
He specified that once the fault detection is complete, a budget, timeline, and the necessary resources will be determined "to repair this and regain the ability to physically manage the pipeline."
The minister clarified that the Russian drone hit one of the largest reservoirs, which contained 25,000 cubic meters of oil at the time of the impact.
"While it was burning, part of this oil was pumped into the pipes to avoid a major man-made and environmental disaster. The oil was effectively in a boiling state," Shmyhal described.
As previously reported with reference to Ukrtransnafta, a targeted Russian attack on January 27 caused significant damage to the technological and auxiliary equipment of the Druzhba oil pipeline. Following the incident, Ukraine suspended the transit of energy resources through this pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia have categorically insisted on the restoration of Russian oil transit.
