Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the final hurdle to Ukraine receiving a massive European Union loan, the latest tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, and China praising three African nations for defying Taiwan.

Orban Reverses Course—Again

Ukraine reopened its section of the Druzhba pipeline on Wednesday, removing a key roadblock that was stopping the European Union from approving a massive aid package for Kyiv. According to Ukrainian pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta, Russian crude is now expected to arrive in Hungary and Slovakia by Thursday—just in time for Budapest to lift its veto on the loan deal.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the final hurdle to Ukraine receiving a massive European Union loan, the latest tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, and China praising three African nations for defying Taiwan.

Orban Reverses Course—Again

Ukraine reopened its section of the Druzhba pipeline on Wednesday, removing a key roadblock that was stopping the European Union from approving a massive aid package for Kyiv. According to Ukrainian pipeline operator Ukrtransnafta, Russian crude is now expected to arrive in Hungary and Slovakia by Thursday—just in time for Budapest to lift its veto on the loan deal.

In December, EU members approved a loan of 90 billion euros (roughly $105 billion) for Ukraine. This package is “literally a matter of life and death” for Kyiv, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka said on Tuesday. Two-thirds of the loan has been allocated for bolstering Ukraine’s defense capabilities as part of its war against Russia, while the rest is planned to go toward the country’s broader financial needs.

However, in February, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban withdrew Budapest’s support for the loan after Kyiv halted all oil shipments through the pipeline.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the time that Kyiv closed Druzhba due to damage caused by Russian “terrorist attacks on the pipeline and surrounding infrastructure.” Moscow has repeatedly targeted critical Ukrainian infrastructure. However, Orban accused Ukraine of blocking the oil for........

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