From: New Voice of Ukraine 🇺🇦
Russia began discussing plans to shut down the Druzhba pipeline system as early as Jan. 2007, oil and gas analyst Mikhail Krutikhin said in an interview with the Russian opposition outlet Novaya Gazeta on Jan. 10.
“A bill has recently been submitted to Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada to halt the transit of Russian oil through Druzhba,” Krutikhin said. “If passed, Russia could lose the $5–6 billion it earns from oil sent via Ukraine.”
However, he added that the countries receiving this oil would also face significant challenges.
“They will struggle, especially Hungary, which is in a particularly difficult situation,” he said. “But they could have prepared for this, as Russia has been talking about shutting down Druzhba since Jan. 2007. Yes, this has been in the works. Right now, I’m looking at a document signed by Putin—an agreement with Transneft chief Semyon Vainshtok—about shutting down Druzhba from the Belarusian border at the Unecha station, building a new pipeline, and redirecting all the oil to Russia’s Baltic ports for export. Putin wrote ‘agreed’ on this document, signed it, and dated it Jan. 2007.”
Voice of Ukraine 