Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s threats to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine are unlikely to succeed. Ukraine’s Energy Minister, Herman Halushchenko, said this in an interview with Politico on December 31.
Fico had earlier stated that his government might stop supplying electricity to Ukraine if it did not agree to extend the deal on transit of Russian gas to Europe beyond December 31. However, Halushchenko argued that Ukraine could easily compensate for any disruption by importing electricity from Romania and Poland. He also pointed out that Fico’s potential actions would “violate EU regulations.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had earlier directly addressed Fico’s threats, saying that they would not lead to a halt in electricity imports to Ukraine. Zelensky emphasized that Slovakia is part of the unified European energy market and that Fico must abide by pan-European regulations.
Halushchenko also warned that cutting off electricity supplies would primarily harm Slovakia’s own economy. He estimated that halting exports could cost Slovakia “hundreds of millions of dollars” annually.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry echoed these sentiments, stating that Ukraine pays a significant amount for the electricity it receives from Slovakia. The ministry criticized Fico’s rhetoric, saying that he was aligning himself with the Russian dictator by making senseless threats to cut off Ukraine’s electricity.
Fico had held talks with Putin on December 22 during a visit to Moscow, where they discussed gas transit, the war in Ukraine, and standardizing “mutual relations” between Russia and Slovakia.