Slovak PM threatens power cut as Ukraine oil row escalates

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday warned of halting emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine if oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia are not restored.

"If oil supplies to Slovakia are not restored on Monday, I will ask SEPS to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. In January 2026 alone, these emergency supplies needed to stabilize the Ukrainian energy grid were twice as high as for the whole of 2025," he posted on social media. SEPS is the Slovak state transmission system operator.

Fico also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of acting maliciously towards Slovakia because Slovakia does not "support the war."

He added that the halt of gas flows to Slovakia has caused annual damage of 500 million euros ($590 million) since January 1, 2025, and that there has been further damage and logistical difficulties since the oil flows halted.

Oil supplies to Slovakia and Hungary were suspended following an attack on the Druzhba pipeline on January 27, Ukrainian officials said. Slovakia has declared an oil emergency.

On February 18, after a cabinet session, Fico accused Zelenskyy of political blackmail and interfering in the election campaign in Hungary, the News Agency of the Slovak Republic reported.