President Volodymyr Zelenskyi reacted to the statement of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico that Slovakia may possibly stop supplying electricity to Ukraine.
The president wrote about this in X.
"It seems that Putin instructed Fico to open a second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the interests of the people of Slovakia," the Ukrainian president wrote.
He stressed that Slovakiaʼs share in electricity imports to Ukraine is about 19%. The Ukrainian government is working with its EU neighbors to maintain the necessary volume of electricity supplies. Slovakia is part of the single European energy market, and Fico must respect pan-European rules, the president stressed.
Zelenskyi noted that Ficoʼs short-sighted policies have already left the people of Slovakia without compensation for the loss of Russian gas transit, and may still leave them without at least $200 million each year that Ukraine pays for imported electricity.
The President recalled that Ukraineʼs need to import electricity arose only because Russia occupied the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and is purposefully destroying Ukrainian thermal and hydropower generation.
According to Zelenskyi, it would be more beneficial for everyone in Europe, and in particular for the people of Slovakia, to cooperate with neighbors and the EU to increase the supply of energy resources to Europe, including gas from America and other partners. Only this can reduce the price of energy for most families.
"Any arbitrary decisions in Bratislava or orders from Moscow to Fico regarding electricity will not lead to a stop in electricity imports to Ukraine, but they can definitely lead to a break between the current government of Slovakia and the European community," Volodymyr Zelenskyi summed up.
What preceded
"After January 1, we will assess the situation and possible reciprocal measures against Ukraine. If necessary, we will stop the supply of electricity, which Ukraine desperately needs during grid outages," Fico said on December 27.
He justified the threat by saying that stopping the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine would have a significant impact on the economy of all of Europe.
According to the Slovak Prime Minister, due to the suspension of Russian gas transit through Ukraine, the European Union will have to allocate an additional €120 billion for energy over the next two years.
"Closing the transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine is not just an empty political gesture. It is an extremely expensive step, for which we, in the European Union, will pay," Fico said.
Russian gas supplies to Slovakia
The agreement between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on the export of Russian gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory expires on December 31, 2024. Therefore, Slovakia and other EU countries began to look for alternative sources, one of which was Azerbaijan. Slovakia and Azerbaijan signed a short-term agreement.
Russia said that it was ready to continue supplying gas through the territory of Ukraine, but because of the war, Ukraine refused to participate in negotiations with Russia regarding gas exports through its territory.
Slovakian company SPP said it has diversified gas purchase contracts with BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell, Eni and RWE and has up to 150% of its customersʼ consumption available as a safety cushion. SPP said Slovakia has also diversified transit supply routes in case transit via the pipeline through Ukraine is disrupted.
Robert Fico met with Putin in the Kremlin in December of this year. Most likely, the topic of their conversation was the agreement on the transportation of Russian gas through Ukraine to Europe, which expires at the end of December.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi reacted to this.
According to him, during a recent meeting of European leaders in Brussels, it was noted that the Slovak Prime Minister does not want to join joint European work to achieve energy independence or find alternatives to Russian gas.
Zelenskyi says that Fico, on the contrary, seeks to help Russia displace American gas and other European energy resources.
The Prime Minister of Slovakia refused compensation that would ease the transition period and help get rid of dependence, that is, for him this issue is not a security issue, the President of Ukraine said.
- Slovakia and Hungary have also had problems with Russian oil supplies this year. Babel reported on this in detail here.
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