Czech Republic to end reliance on Russian oil by mid‑next year
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced on Tuesday that his country will become independent from Russian oil supplies by mid-next year at the latest. He added that this timeline will depend on the completion of the expansion of the TAL pipeline, which runs from the Adriatic Sea through the Alps to Germany.
According to Fiala, the work on modernizing the pipeline is progressing at full speed, and after 60 years of receiving oil from the Druzhba pipeline, the Czech Republic will no longer be dependent on this resource from Russia. Fiala assured that he would announce the Czech Republic's withdrawal from the current exemption from the EU embargo on Russian oil as soon as possible.
After the expansion, and especially after increasing the pumping station's capacity, the TAL pipeline is expected to deliver an additional 4 million tonnes of oil annually to the Czech Republic.
Last year, the Czech Republic imported 7.4 million tonnes of crude oil, with about 58% coming from the Druzhba pipeline. Germany supplied The remaining oil to the Czech Republic through the IKL pipeline.
Attacks on Russian refineries. Reliable drones
According to an Interfax report, oil export revenues in Russia have fallen by 20%. This decrease was partly due to Ukrainian military attacks on refineries, which increased oil exports while simultaneously reducing the supply of petroleum products. Furthermore, maintenance works at Russian refineries also influenced the decrease in supplies.
CNN notes that Ukrainian attacks on refineries are possible thanks to advanced drones. Some use artificial intelligence (AI), making them entirely autonomous and able to operate without communication with the command during flight. This makes them reliable, conveyed an anonymous source from the Ukrainian drone development program.
