Fico announces termination of energy supplies to Ukraine if oil supplies not restored by Mon

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced his intention to terminate emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine if Ukraine does not restore oil supplies interrupted after the accident on the Druzhba oil pipeline near the Ukrainian city of Brody, Lviv region in January on Monday, February 23.

"IF THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT DOES NOT RESUME OIL SUPPLIES TO SLOVAKIA ON MONDAY, ON THAT SAME DAY I WILL ASK THE RELEVANT SLOVAK COMPANIES TO STOP EMERGENCY ELECTRICITY SUPPLIES TO UKRAINE," Fico wrote on X.

"The Ukrainian president refuses to understand our peace-oriented approach and, because we do not support the war, he is behaving maliciously toward Slovakia," Fico wrote.

"First, he halted gas flows to Slovakia, causing us damages of EUR 500 million per year. Now he has stopped oil flows, causing us further losses and logistical difficulties. If the West does not mind that the Nord Stream gas pipeline was blown up, Slovakia cannot accept Slovak-Ukrainian relations as a one-way ticket benefiting only Ukraine," the Slovak Prime Minister wrote.

"I am a proud and sovereign Slovak. If oil supplies to Slovakia are not resumed on Monday, I will ask SEPS, the state-owned joint-stock company, to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. 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," he added.

"Since the beginning of the war, Slovakia has been helping Ukraine. Around 180,000 Ukrainians are currently on our territory, we provide humanitarian assistance, and we organize joint government meetings. We are doing substantially more for Ukraine than some other countries," Fico wrote.

As previously reported, Hungary halted diesel fuel exports to Ukraine on Feb. 18 until transit of Russian crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline is restored, Hungarian Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Relations Zoltan Kovacs said. He argued that Ukraine "for purely political reasons unilaterally stopped supplies on January 27, even though their restoration is technically possible." Slovakia also announced it was halting diesel exports to Ukraine.

Hungary and Slovakia had earlier asked Croatia to allow Russian oil supplies to flow through the Adria pipeline. Slovakia has since declared a state of emergency in its oil sector due to the lack of supply.

Croatian Economy Minister Ante Susnjar said the Adria pipeline is ready to operate, adding that there are no longer any technical justifications for any EU country to remain dependent on Russian crude oil.

Transit of Russian crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline via Ukraine was halted at the end of last month following large-scale Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.