Slovakia Threatens to Cut Aid for 130,000 Ukrainian Refugees Over Russian Gas Dispute

Bratislava: Slovakian leader Robert Fico has threatened to cut financial aid for over 130,000 Ukrainian refugees living in Slovakia. This move is part of a set of retaliatory measures against Kyiv, following its decision to halt the flow of Russian gas through its territory to Slovakia.

In a video message posted on Facebook, Fico stated that his Smer party would also consider cutting electricity supplies to Ukraine. Additionally, he demanded the renewal of gas transits or compensation for the financial losses Slovakia claims to have incurred due to the suspension of Russian gas supplies.

As of December 8, the United Nations Refugee Agency reported that there were 130,532 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, most of whom crossed the shared border between the two countries directly.

The halt of Russian gas exports through a Soviet-era pipeline running via Ukraine occurred on New Year's Day. Kyiv announced it would not renew a five-year transit deal with Russian energy giant Gazprom, a deal established before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

Slovakia spent months attempting to persuade Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to renew the deal, hoping to ensure the continued flow of cheap Russian gas supplies into Europe. However, a growing feud between the two countries has intensified in recent weeks, with Zelenskyy refusing to agree to the renewal.

The Ukrainian president has argued that he would not permit countries to "earn additional billions on our blood," highlighting his stance against any deals that would benefit from the ongoing conflict.

Fico has hit back, saying halting Russian gas would increase European gas and power prices and ultimately hurt the European Union more than Russia.

He added that Slovakia itself would not face gas shortages, as it had made substitute arrangements. However, the Ukrainian decision to shut off Russian gas would still result in losses of €500 million in transit fees from other countries for Bratislava.

Last year, Slovakia signed a short-term pilot contract to buy natural gas from Azerbaijan, along with a deal to import US-sourced liquefied natural gas via Poland. Additionally, it has the capability to receive gas through Austrian, Hungarian, and Czech pipelines.

Fico has, however, claimed that the termination of the deal would cost the European Union €120 billion over the next two years as a whole.

In December, officials in Moldova, which is not a European Union member state, declared a state of emergency due to anticipated severe gas shortages following the end of the deal.

The European Commission has stated that Europe had prepared for this change and that most states would be able to manage without Russian gas supplies.

"We expect the impact of the end of transit via Ukraine on the EU's security of supply to be limited. The 14 billion cubic metres per year currently transiting via Ukraine can be fully replaced by LNG and non-Russian pipeline imports via alternative routes," a European Commission spokesperson told Euronews in December.

Poland's government called the end of the deal a "victory" against Russia.

Fico, who has long kept friendly ties with Moscow, much to Ukraine's dismay, visited Russian President Vladimir Putin last month to discuss gas supplies — where he initiated his threat to halt backup electricity supplies to Kyiv upon which the war-torn country is heavily reliant upon.

At the time, Poland said it would be prepared to boost its energy exports to Ukraine to compensate for potential Slovakian losses.

Zelenskyy, for his part, has accused Fico of helping Putin "fund the war and weaken Ukraine". Last week, the Ukrainian leader said Fico's efforts to continue the deal amounted to Slovakia opening a "second energy front" against Ukraine on the orders of Russia.