Slovakia’s Prime Minister Roberto Fico has threatened to cut off financial aid to more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as the conflict with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies escalates.
On January 1, Kiev shut down a pipeline that had been used for decades to supply Russian natural gas to Central Europe.
Slovakia was the main entry point, but the country is now losing millions of euros in transit fees.
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimated last month that there were 130,530 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, out of 6,813,900 in the world.
Fico, who made a surprise visit to Moscow in December to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin, described Kiev’s move as “an act of sabotage.”
The EU member state’s prime minister said he would also propose halting electricity exports to Ukraine and “drastically reducing” financial support for Ukrainians taking refuge in Slovakia.
He said Slovakia itself was not at risk of running out of gas as it had already taken alternative measures.
But Fico added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s decision to turn off the tap meant Slovakia would be deprived of 500 million euros (£415 million, $518 million) in transit fees from other countries. Ta.
He said his party was ready to discuss the “cutoff of electricity supplies” and the “significant decline in support for the Ukrainian people in Slovakia.”
“The only options for sovereign Slovakia are to renew the transport network or demand a compensation system to replace the financial losses,” he added.
President Zelenskiy last month accused Fico of helping Putin “finance wars and weaken Ukraine.”
“Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to cause further suffering to Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian president said.
Poland has offered to help Kiev in case Slovakia stops exporting electricity. This power supply is critical for Ukraine, whose power plants are regularly attacked by Russia.
The Polish government called Ukraine’s suspension of Russian gas supplies a “new victory” against Russia, while the European Commission said the EU was prepared for change and that most countries could cope.
Moldova, which is not a member of the EU, is already experiencing shortages.
Russia can still send gas to Hungary, Türkiye and Serbia through the Turkish Stream pipeline across the Black Sea.
