Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut financial support for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as a dispute with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies escalates. On 1 January, Kyiv shut off a pipeline that for decades was used to supply Central Europe with Russian natural gas.

Austria has insisted it is well prepared for the stoppage, but Slovakia has threatened to cut electricity supplies to neighboring Ukraine.

Slovakia will consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine such as halting back-up electricity supplies after Jan. 1 if Kyiv, as expected, stops the transit of Russian gas to Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday.

Slovakia would face significant financial losses, amounting to hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars annually, if it ceases exporting electricity to Ukraine. — Ukrinform.

Slovakia has rejected Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's accusation that Prime Minister Robert Fico had opened a "second energy front" against Kyiv on the orders of Russia as a gas transit dispute deepened between the countries.

Poland is prepared to step up electricity exports to Ukraine if Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico follows through on his threat to cut off back-up power supplies to the war-torn country, a senior official said on Sunday.

Donetsk region. Since the start of 2025, two civilians have been killed by Russian attacks on Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk, according to regional governor Vadym Filashkin. Kherson region. On Jan. 1, Russian shelling killed one resident of the region’s eponymous capital city of Kherson, in the country’s south.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has described Slovakia's threats to halt electricity supplies to Ukraine as unacceptable. Source: Estonian media outlet Postimees, as cited by European Pravda Details: Tsahkna reminded that the European Union has committed to fully phasing out imports of Russian fossil fuel by 2027.

Poland is ready to increase domestic electricity production if Slovakia halts the delivery of backup power supplies to Ukraine, an unnamed Polish official told Bloomberg on Dec. 29.

Ukraine has dismissed concerns that Slovakia might cut off its electricity supply, despite the expiration of the Russian gas transit agreement through Ukraine on January 1. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico recently threatened to take "reciprocal measures,

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico described Ukraine's halt of the transit of gas supplied from Russia to the EU as "Zelensky's sabotage." In a video released on Thursday, he again threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine and discussed the possibility of reducing support for Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia.