Kazakhstan's Energy Minister Erlan Akkenzhenov has confirmed that Russian authorities intend to suspend oil pumping through the Druzhba pipeline to Germany, suggesting the move is linked to attacks on Russian infrastructure. He made the statement on the sidelines of the Regional Environmental Summit in Astana, according to KazTAG.
«Most likely, this is related to recent strikes on Russian infrastructure. I am making that assumption,» the minister said.
Akkenzhenov noted that his ministry has yet to receive official confirmation of the suspension, but that informal sources indicate no oil will flow through the route next month. «For May, transit through Atyrau-Samara and onward via the Druzhba pipeline to the Schwedt refinery is zero,» he stated. Russia has cited a «lack of technical capability» as the unofficial reason for halting the transit of Kazakhstani oil to Europe.
The minister stressed that the restrictions are limited to May 2026, and that Russia is expected to resume Kazakhstani oil transit once the «technical issues» are resolved. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, has no plans to cut production volumes. «We have the ability to redistribute this volume via alternative routes,» Akkenzhenov said.
Kazakhstan's First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar echoed that assessment, describing the Druzhba route as non-critical for the country, while adding that Astana is still awaiting an official notification from Moscow regarding the transit suspension.
Russia had previously signaled its intention to halt Kazakhstani oil supplies to Germany via Druzhba from May 1. The pipeline has a long history of delivering Russian oil to Germany — most notably to the major refinery in Schwedt — but operations have been repeatedly disrupted in recent months due to Ukrainian drone strikes on pipeline infrastructure inside Russia.
According to KazTransOil, Kazakhstani oil exports to Germany rose by 353,000 tons in the first quarter of this year, reaching 730,000 tons. Kazakhstan had planned to ship up to 2.5 million tons to Germany over the course of 2026.
