EU state issues ultimatum to Zelensky over Russian oil supplies
Slovakia will cut its emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine unless Kiev resumes deliveries of Russian oil by Monday, Prime Minister Robert Fico has warned.
The standoff centers on the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, the main artery carrying Russian crude to Hungary and Slovakia. When supplies stopped in late January, Ukraine blamed a Russian airstrike. Moscow, however, insisted that Kiev was using energy to blackmail the two EU countries, which have been critical of the bloc’s support for Ukraine. Both Slovakia and Hungary echoed Moscow’s stance.
Writing on Saturday on X, Fico issued a direct ultimatum to Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky while hinting at Kiev’s ingratitude over past humanitarian assistance and readiness to host around 180,000 Ukrainian refugees.
Zelensky, he said, “refuses to understand our peace-oriented approach and, because we do not support the war, he is behaving maliciously toward Slovakia.”
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 recalled that Ukraine had already halted Russian gas supplies to Slovakia, a move he said costs the country €500 million ($589 million) per year. “Slovakia cannot accept Slovak-Ukrainian relations as a one-way ticket benefiting only Ukraine,” he said.
The Slovak leader also stressed that Ukraine is highly dependent on outside energy supplies as its own power grid is reeling under Russian strikes, which Moscow says come in retaliation for Kiev’s “terrorist attacks” deep into the country.
”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 said, adding that Zelensky’s “unacceptable behavior” once again proved that Slovakia had been right to opt out of the €90 billion EU loan to Kiev.
This comes as Hungary has also warned Kiev that it is “considering the option of stopping power and gas shipments towards Ukraine” over the Druzhba pipeline stand-off.
