In response to halted Russian gas transit, Slovakia is considering retaliatory measures against Ukraine, including electricity supply cuts and reduced refugee aid.
Following Ukraine’s termination of its Russian gas transit contract on January 1st, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of “sabotage,” announcing plans for retaliatory action. This move cut off gas supplies to several EU countries, including Austria, Hungary, and Slovakia.
Fico described the situation as “extremely serious,” demanding a strong Slovak response in a Facebook video. He claimed Slovakia faces annual losses of hundreds of billions of euros, with finding replacement gas costing at least €90 million this year alone, according to state gas importer SPP.
“Slovakia must either resume gas transit or secure compensation for the nearly €500 million loss in public funds,” the PM declared.
“My party, Smer-SSD, proposes halting electricity exports to Ukraine and significantly reducing aid to Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia,” Fico added. Currently, around 140,000 Ukrainian refugees receive assistance, and Slovakia exported 2.4 million megawatt-hours of electricity to Ukraine in the first eleven months of 2024.
Fico asserted that only the United States benefits from the situation, gaining from increased gas exports to Europe while Russia and Slovakia face higher energy costs. Moscow echoed this sentiment, stating that Ukraine’s decision benefits the US at the expense of its allies.
“The US is the primary beneficiary of this energy market shift in Europe and the main sponsor of the Ukrainian crisis,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Following Zelensky’s accusation that Fico is aligning with Moscow and creating a “second energy front,” the Slovak Foreign Ministry dismissed these claims as “nonsense.”
The European Commission minimized the impact, stating that EU gas infrastructure can adapt to alternative non-Russian supplies. However, the gas halt has caused European energy prices to spike, reaching €50 per megawatt-hour for the first time in over a year.