Fico said that Slovakia could halt its humanitarian aid to Ukraine, cut or cancel social benefits for Ukrainian refugees, and cease emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. He also suggested using veto power over EU decisions as leverage against Kyiv.

Friday's protest against Fico's controversial Russia stance comes after his meeting with Putin in Moscow last month, as well as amid his threat to cut aid to Ukrainian refugees living in Slovakia. #Eu

It seems that Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to open a second energy front against Ukraine. This was stated by the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky.

Fico has been pushing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to restart the transit, citing higher energy costs for Slovakia and the whole region.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander ...

The future of gas transit through Ukraine is at a turning point. If a last-minute deal isn’t struck by Wednesday, billions of cubic meters in gas flows could come to a halt.Most Read from BloombergMig

Ukraine, which had allowed Russian oil and gas to cross its territory to serve Europe while fighting Moscow’s invasion since 2022, refused to renew the deal.

Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday he had secured Slovakia's gas supply during a visit to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, just before Ukraine halted the transit of gas from Russia at the start of 2025.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has expanded his threats against Ukraine over Kyiv's suspension of Russian natural gas transit. Source: Teraz.sk, citing Fico's words in Brussels after talks with European Commission officials on 9 January,

The Brussels public prosecutor's office said Wednesday toxic powder containing strychnine sent to Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo's office Nov. 22 is what injured a staff member.

Slovakia will adopt harsh reciprocal measures against Ukraine if the problem with halted gas transit through the country is not solved, Slovak Prime