Slovakia cuts off Ukraine. Fico: If they ask for help, they won't get it

Slovakia is suspending electricity supplies to Ukraine in retaliation for interrupting oil transit, Prime Minister Robert Fico announced on Monday. He announced that if the Ukrainian side asks Slovakia for help in stabilizing the energy network, it will not receive such help.

– From today, the rule applies that if the Ukrainian side asks Slovakia for help in stabilizing the Ukrainian energy network, it will not receive such help, Fico said.

According to the Slovak Prime Minister, this is the first step in response to the lack of oil supplies, to which Bratislava is entitled, without violating any international rules and obligations.

Fico threatened that if Ukraine does not resume oil transit, the Slovak government is ready to take further actions, including reconsidering support for Ukraine's membership in the European Union.

– Stopping the flow of oil is a purely political decision aimed at blackmailing Slovakia regarding the international position on the war in Ukraine – he said.

The Slovak politician said that before making the decision, he wanted to talk to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and find out from him whether and when oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline will be resumed. – We received information that the president of Ukraine is ready to talk only after February 25 this year – said Fico.

He also stated that the Slovak ambassador in Kiev did not receive permission to visit the damaged part of the Druzhba pipeline, which, according to Slovak intelligence sources, is supposed to be operational. He repeated that the Ukrainian president is hostile towards Slovakia.

– Slovakia is a sovereign country and cannot be blackmailed. We understand Ukraine's difficult situation. However, this does not entitle the President of Ukraine to make such frivolous and hostile attacks on Slovakia, which will inflict financial losses on it and cause serious logistical difficulties, Fico said.

Even before the decision, announced by the Prime Minister on the Internet, was made, politicians from opposition parties sharply criticized its announcement. It was recalled that electricity supplies to Ukraine, including those intended to stabilize the local network, are of a commercial nature and Bratislava receives money for them. First of all, the political significance of suspending supplies to Ukraine on the eve of the fourth anniversary of Russian aggression was emphasized.

Slovakia from the end of January this year. it does not receive supplies of Russian oil via the Druzhba oil pipeline, which was damaged in Russian airstrikes. The oil is processed in the only refinery located in Slovakia – Slovnaft in Bratislava, owned by the Hungarian MOL. Due to the lack of supplies, the Slovak government activated strategic reserves and introduced a state of emergency in the oil sector.

Piotr Górecki (PAP)

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