Slovak PM Fico threatens to cut emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine over Druzhba disruption

Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to ask the Slovak Electricity Transmission System company (SEPS) to cut emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine unless the oil flow via Russian Druzhba pipeline is renewed.

The Druzhba pipeline was damaged by the Russian military operations in eastern Ukraine, causing a halt at the end of January, but Fico accused Ukraine of dragging out efforts to put the pipeline back into operation.

“If on Monday [February 23] the Ukrainian president does not renew oil supplies to Slovakia, then on the same day I will ask relevant Slovak companies to halt supplies of emergency electricity to Ukraine,“ Fico posted on his Facebook social media profile on February 22.

Last week, the Slovak left-right cabinet declared an oil emergency and the country’s key refinery, Hungarian MOL-owned Slovnaft, cut fuel exports to Ukraine to keep its products only for the domestic market.

In his latest Facebook posts, the Slovak strongman said that “Slovakia has been helping Ukraine since the beginning of the war”, adding that “about 180,000 Ukrainians” are sheltered in Slovakia, which also provides humanitarian aid and “does significantly more for Ukraine than some other countries”.

Fico then blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for “not wanting to understand our peace attitude and acting ill-mindedly towards Slovakia for not supporting the war,” adding that Zelenskiy was supposed to “first stop gas flow to Slovakia, causing us €500mn in damages” and “now stopped oil flow, causing us more damages and logistic difficulties”.

Fico and his left-right cabinet adopted a Kremlin-pleasing stance on the Russian invasion of Ukraine after returning to power in 2023. Fico also opposed the EU's phase out or Russian energy imports, arguing that the Slovak gas transmission utility Eustream would lose income from gas transit fees.  

Czech energy and media oligarch Daniel Křetínský’s EPH has a 49% stake and managerial control in Eustream, while Slovakia retains 51%.

In his Facebook posts, Fico accused the EU of prioritising Ukraine’s interests over those of EU member states, and accused Zelensky of “hostile behaviour towards Slovakia as enemy state”. He praised himself for “refusing to get Slovakia involved in the military loan for Ukraine amounting to €90bn”.

Ukraine “rejected and condemned the ultimatums and blackmail by the governments of Hungary and the Slovak Republic” over the energy supplies and described it as “provocative” and “irresponsible” in the context of Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which have led to deaths of civilians, and added that Budapest and Bratislava “are not only playing into the hands of the aggressor, but also harming their own energy companies that supply energy on a commercial basis”.

In a statement released by Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine said it is in touch with the EU and both countries over the impact of Russian attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure and that “security and stabilisation repair work continues amid daily threats of new missile attacks”.