Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut off financial aid to more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as the dispute with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies intensifies.
January 1st, Kiev shut down the pipeline It has been used to supply Russian natural gas to Central Europe for decades.
Slovakia was the main entry point and the country now stands to lose millions of euros in public transport fares.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that Last month, it was announced that there were 130,530 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia out of 6,813,900 Ukrainian refugees worldwide.
Fico – Who’s Who in December He made a surprise visit to Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. – Described Kyiv’s move as “sabotage”.
The EU prime minister said he would propose cutting off electricity exports to Ukraine and “drastically reduce” financial support for Ukrainians seeking refuge in Slovakia.
He said there was no risk of a gas shortage as Slovakia itself had already put in place alternatives.
But Fico added that if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy decided to turn off the tap, Slovakia would deprive other countries of 500 million euros (415 million pounds, $518 million) in transit fares.
He said his party was ready to discuss “power cuts” and the “significant decline in support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia.”
“The only alternative for sovereign Slovakia is to reopen public transport or demand a compensation mechanism to replace public finance losses,” he added.
Last month, Zelenskyy accused Fico of helping Putin “finance the war and weaken Ukraine.”
“Pico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s attempts to inflict more suffering on Ukrainians,” the Ukrainian president said.
Poland has offered to support Kiev if Slovakia stops power exports. The power supply is vital to Ukraine’s power plants, which are under regular attack by Russia.
The Polish government called the suspension “another victory” over Moscow, while the European Commission said the EU was ready for the change and that most countries could cope with it.
Moldova, which is not a member of the EU, is already experiencing a food crisis.
Russia can still send gas across the Black Sea to Hungary, Turkey and Serbia via the TurkStream pipeline.
