BRUSSELS, March 17. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky has sent a letter to the European Commission (EC) promising to repair the allegedly damaged Druzhba oil pipeline "in one and a half months," Reuters said.

"In a letter to the EU, Zelensky said repair on the pipeline was nearing completion and that the pumping station was expected to be restored in one and a half months," Reuters wrote, without specifying whether this means the resumption of transit of Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. In any case, the deadline Kiev set means the pipeline will not resume operations until after Hungary's parliamentary elections that will take place on April 12.

This comes as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa stated that the European Union had promised to provide funding and technical support to Ukraine to repair the Druzhba pipeline. In turn, European Commission Spokeswoman Paula Pinho confirmed at a briefing in Brussels that the EC had received Zelensky's letter, without giving details.

At the EU summit on March 19-20, Brussels intends to make another attempt to force Hungary and Slovakia to lift their veto on the 20th sanctions package against Russia and the approval of 90 bln euros in 2026-2027 funding for Kiev. Bratislava and Budapest have blocked both decisions, demanding that Kiev resume Russian oil transit via the Druzhba pipeline, which was interrupted on January 27.