Slovakia to Cut Ukraine Power Supply Over Russian Oil Dispute
The crisis traces back to the Soviet-era Druzhba route — the primary conduit supplying Russian crude to Slovakia and Hungary — which went dry in late January. Ukraine attributed the disruption to a Russian airstrike, while Moscow countered that Kyiv was weaponizing energy access to pressure two EU member states that have openly questioned the bloc's military backing for Ukraine. Both Budapest and Bratislava have aligned with the Kremlin's characterization of events.
In a pointed post on X on Saturday, Fico directed his ultimatum squarely at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, referencing what he described as Kyiv's ingratitude for past Slovak humanitarian aid and the country's willingness to shelter approximately 180,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Zelensky, he charged, "refuses to understand our peace-oriented approach and, because we do not support the war, he is behaving maliciously toward Slovakia."
Fico further argued that Ukraine had already cut off Russian gas flows to Slovakia — a decision he claims drains €500 million ($589 million) annually from the Slovak economy. "Slovakia cannot accept Slovak-Ukrainian relations as a one-way ticket benefiting only Ukraine," he said.
The prime minister underscored Ukraine's acute vulnerability to external energy support, noting that Russian bombardment has severely degraded Kyiv's domestic power infrastructure — strikes Moscow frames as retaliation for what it calls Ukrainian "terrorist attacks" on Russian soil.
"In January 2026 alone, these emergency supplies, needed to stabilize the Ukrainian energy grid, were required twice as much as during the entire year of 2025," Fico said, adding that Zelensky's "unacceptable behavior" once again proved that Slovakia had been right to opt out of the €90 billion EU loan to Kyiv.
The Slovak warning arrives as Hungary separately signaled it too is "considering the option of stopping power and gas shipments towards Ukraine" in response to the ongoing Druzhba standoff — amplifying coordinated pressure on Kyiv from two of its most critical EU neighbors.
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