Slovakia Cuts Ukraine Emergency Electricity Supplies
The Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian crude to Slovakia and Hungary, has been offline since late January. Kyiv attributes the outage to damage caused by Russian strikes — an explanation Moscow flatly denies. Both Budapest and Bratislava have accused Ukraine of deliberately choking off supplies for political leverage, and both have now moved to retaliate.
Announcing the electricity cutoff, Fico doubled down on his characterization of Kyiv's conduct, calling it a "purely political decision aimed at blackmailing Slovakia."
"Reciprocity is a fundamental rule in international relations. The government's first response to the hostile acts of the Ukrainian president in the form of stopping emergency electricity supply is therefore entirely appropriate," Fico stated, warning of "further reciprocal steps" if oil supplies are not resumed.
The move carries significant weight. Ukraine has grown heavily dependent on electricity imports to prop up a power grid ravaged by sustained Russian strikes on its dual-use infrastructure. According to Fico, Ukraine drew twice as much electricity from Slovakia in January alone as it did across the entirety of 2025.
The announcement came within hours of Hungary vetoing the EU's latest sanctions package targeting Russia, as well as blocking a proposed €90 billion ($106 billion) emergency loan earmarked for Ukraine. Budapest linked both vetoes directly to the pipeline dispute, accusing Kyiv of enforcing an "oil blockade" and "blackmailing" the country.
The coordinated pressure campaign between the two Central European allies has escalated rapidly in recent days. Last week, both Slovakia and Hungary suspended diesel exports to Ukraine pending the restoration of Druzhba operations. Budapest has also signaled it is weighing a parallel cut to its own emergency electricity transfers to Kyiv.
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