- Ukraine president’s criticism comes as Kyiv is expected to stop transit of Russian gas to Slovakia as planned on January 1.
Poland is prepared to step up electricity exports to Ukraine if Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico follows through on his threat to cut off back-up power supplies to the war-torn country, a senior official said on Sunday.
The Polish government stands ready to boost domestic power production to compensate for any imbalances that Ukraine’s strained system would suffer in the event of a Slovak move, according to the official, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico of opening a “second energy front” against Kyiv on the orders of Moscow, deepening an already tense dispute over transfers of Russian gas to Europe.
Ukraine pumps Russian natural gas through its territory to several European countries, including Slovakia, Moldova and Hungary.
But it is expected to halt the flow when an existing transit deal, which was signed before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, expires at the end of the year.
Fico, who visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week, said on Friday that Slovakia would consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine – such as halting back-up electricity supplies – if Kyiv cuts off the transfers as of January 1.
“It appears that Putin gave Fico the order to open the second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the Slovak people’s interests,” Zelenskyy wrote in a social media post on Saturday.
It appears that Putin gave Fico the order to open the second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the Slovak people’s interests. Fico’s threats to cut off Ukraine’s emergency power supply this winter while Russia attacks our power plants and energy grid can only be…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 28, 2024
