Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico suggested Slovakia could halt electricity supplies to Ukraine.
He made the remark after learning that the Druzhba oil pipeline, which brings Russian crude to Slovakia, had allegedly been repaired, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not want to allow oil transit, according to Aktuality.sk:
“If Zelensky thinks this has no value, that he doesn’t need it, then we can make a decision and walk away from cooperation on electricity supplies,” Fico said.
Fico also said he wants to discuss oil supply disruptions via Ukraine with the European Commission. Earlier, Slovakia and Hungary sought to route supplies through Croatia’s Adria pipeline, but Zagreb refused, citing solidarity with Kyiv.
Energy expert Volodymyr Omelchenko countered in a comment to RBC-Ukraine that Fico lacks the authority to unilaterally cut electricity deliveries. He spoke to RBC-Ukraine:
“We are seeing a hybrid war launched by Russia to save Orbán,” he said, referring to Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban. “Orbán has a poor rating now; his party is trailing the opposition, and for Putin it’s extremely important to keep Orbán in office.”
Omelchenko suggested the Kremlin’s plan around the Druzhba pipeline aimed to halt transit so Hungary and Slovakia would again blame Kyiv for disruptions and accuse it of undermining their energy security. He characterized it as a Russian hybrid operation designed both to keep Orban in power and to complicate Ukraine’s electricity imports, which he described as critical. He added that because both governments operate under European Union rules, they cannot take such steps on their own.
On February 17, European Commission spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen told reporters that Brussels is in contact with Ukraine regarding the Druzhba pipeline, which has been damaged since late January, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
She said the EU’s executive is prepared to convene an emergency coordination group with relevant parties to discuss alternative fuel supply routes. Itkonen also said there are “no short-term risks to the security of supply for Hungary and Slovakia,” noting both countries hold 90 days of reserve stocks.
On the morning of January 27, Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s Lviv region with drones; the Druzhba pipeline, which carries Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, was hit.
Overnight on December 3, 2025, an explosion occurred on the Druzhba pipeline in the Russian Federation.
