Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said the country has stopped emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine because Ukraine stopped oil transit through the Druzhba oil pipeline after Russian shelling of the pipeline's infrastructure on January 27.
Robert Fico announced this on his Facebook page.
“I have fulfilled what I announced on Saturday – that if oil supplies are not restored on Monday, I will ask SEPS “The state power system operator in Slovakia stopped emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. In January 2026 alone, twice as many emergency supplies were needed to stabilize Ukraine's power system than in all of 2025,” Fico said.
Previously, the Hungarian government also threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine due to the halt in oil transit through the Druzhba oil pipeline after the Russian attack, but at the last moment it abandoned this move due to the alleged protection of the rights of Hungarians in the Transcarpathian region.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called the statements of the governments of Hungary and Slovakia regarding the suspension of electricity supplies to Ukraine from February 23 blackmail.
What is known about the Russian attack on the Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure and the threats of Hungary and Slovakia to stop oil supplies to these countries from Russia?
On January 27, the infrastructure of the Druzhba oil pipeline was damaged as a result of a Russian attack on the Lviv region. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated that Ukraine informed Hungary about the Russian shelling of the Druzhba oil pipeline in Brody, Lviv region, and the corresponding damage on January 27, and that Ukraine's accusations of a delay in supplies are illogical.
On February 21, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said that the country would stop supplying electricity to Ukraine on February 23 if Ukraine did not resume oil transit to the country via the Druzhba pipeline. The same statement was also published by the Hungarian government.
Hungary also blocked a €90 billion EU loan for Ukraine because Ukraine allegedly failed to restore the Druzhba oil pipeline damaged by Russian attacks.
At the same time, the governments of both countries did not note that it was Russia that fired on the Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure and did not condemn the Russian attacks. Thus, the Hungarian Foreign Minister stated at the EU Council on February 23 that Russia “did not fire” on the Druzhba oil pipeline infrastructure, and Ukraine allegedly stopped transit due to an “internal political decision.”
On February 21, Ukraine proposed to the European Union to consider the possibility of transporting oil through Ukraine's existing oil transportation infrastructure, in particular using the Odesa-Brody oil pipeline.
Earlier, Budapest and Bratislava announced the suspension of diesel exports to Ukraine until the resumption of Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.
The European Commission noted that they would like Ukraine to resume the operation of the Druzhba oil pipeline, but since there is a risk of repeated attacks from Russia, the decision on this should be made by Ukraine.