01/25/2025
Ukraine’s decision to stop gas transit from Russia to the European Union on January 1, 2025, has led to a deterioration in relations between Kyiv and Bratislava. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said he was ready to veto further EU financial assistance to Kyiv due to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to discuss the resumption of transit. Having received a complete disregard for this issue from both Brussels and the Ukrainian authorities, Fico today effectively declared political war on Ukraine.
Fico also has enough problems at home. For example, on January 24, large-scale protests took place in the country. In Bratislava, Poprad, Banská Bystrica, in 20 cities in total, more than 100 thousand people took to the streets. The main demand of the protesters is the resignation of Robert Fico due to his pro-Russian policies. The situation in Slovakia is so electrified that there is already talk of introducing a state of emergency in the country. According to the President of Slovakia, Peter Pellegrini, there is still no need to declare an emergency, but some preventive measures will be taken against the background of the Prime Minister’s statements, who suggested that some groups are trying to organize a “coup”.
Well, we have either the usual step of a politician who has lost popularity in the country and decided to resist with the help of the traditional in such cases fight against internal and external “enemies”. Or Fico is simply “going crazy” from overexertion and worries about the possible loss of power. How can we not mention that the other day a hundred Slovak psychiatrists addressed the Prime Minister of their country with an open letter, in which they emphasized his “not entirely understandable” behavior and demanded his resignation.
About what is happening today in the relations between Ukraine and Slovakia, as well as what the situation is inside the neighboring state, – in the material of OBOZ.UA.
The threats didn’t work.
Although the European Commission reported that the cessation of gas supplies from Russia, which came through Ukraine, did not cause an increase in gas prices or a shortage, Robert Fico assures that due to Ukraine’s decision, Slovakia is losing about 500 million euros, which it had previously earned annually from further transit of Russian gas to other EU countries. After negotiations with EC representatives, when it became clear that he would not be helped in Brussels either, Fico threatened to stop humanitarian aid to Ukrainians and to use Slovakia’s veto right in the EU on Ukrainian issues due to the cessation of Russian gas transit.
Volodymyr Zelensky and the Slovak prime minister then exchanged harsh words. Fico called Ukraine an “unreliable partner” and accused the Ukrainian president of “traveling around Europe,” “begging” and “blackmailing others.” In response, Zelensky called Fico’s actions a “mistake” and said that he “arrogantly rejected Ukraine’s help before stopping transit.” Zelensky also criticized Fico’s visit to Moscow, calling it evidence of “betting on Russia instead of a united Europe or common sense,” and criticized him for his trip to Vietnam, where Fico recently vacationed in a luxury hotel.
Political trolling
After that, the Prime Minister of Slovakia decided to reduce the tension and, using an open letter, suggested that Zelensky meet at the border of the two countries and discuss the issue of gas transit from Russia. According to Fico, such a meeting was supposed to “create good conditions for an open conversation on gas supplies to Slovakia and other countries through the territory of Ukraine.” Zelensky, of course, ignored such a pass and in response invited Fico to Kyiv, and after his refusal, continued his political trolling and met with the Slovak opposition.
Popular Slovak opposition leader Michal Šimečka, head of the Progressive Slovakia party, which recently overtook Robert Fico’s party in opinion polls, and who, unlike the pro-Russian prime minister, expressed support for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, calling the decision “important” for Slovakia’s interests, visited Kyiv. According to the latest polls, Progressive Slovakia is gaining 23% of support, ahead of Fico’s party, which has about 20% of the vote. The opposition in Slovakia has united against the prime minister’s foreign policy, accusing him of isolationism and too-close a friendship with Russian dictator Putin.
Šimečka and Zelensky discussed energy security. The Ukrainian president acknowledged that the topic was “sensitive” and added that the country was ready to help the Slovak people in ensuring the stability of energy supplies.
“We were ready to receive the leader of our friends, the Slovak people (an allusion to Fico, who did not come to Kyiv. – Ed.), but another leader came,” Zelensky openly ridiculed the Slovak Prime Minister. It was this meeting that became the final trigger for Fico, who after that began shouting everywhere about a “coup d’état” and “Maidan.”
Putin’s ally has held out for now, but the “ghost of Maidan” scares Fico
So far, Robert Fico has managed to thwart a vote of no confidence that the country’s opposition initiated due to accusations of the prime minister’s ties to Russia. In addition, Michal Šimečka has accused Fico of preparing the ground for the country’s exit from the European Union. All because of the latter’s ambiguous statement that Slovakia should prepare for “all possible crisis situations” that the EU may face in the near future, even referring to the possible collapse of the Union. According to Fico, the Slovak people should decide for themselves whether they want to remain in the “European superpower”, which, according to him, “limits the sovereignty of nation states”.
“This cannot be interpreted differently than what we warned about: the government is preparing the ground for Slovakia’s withdrawal from the EU,” the leader of the Progressive Slovakia party said in parliament.
The consideration of this initiative was supposed to take place on January 21, but Fico established a closed regime for the debate period, citing the fact that he would provide parliamentarians with a report from the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS), which “contains classified information.” Allegedly, the SIS received “data on a long-term organized influence operation aimed at destabilizing the country.”
Fico himself accused the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party at a press conference of preparing for a coup d’état, comparing the situation to the protests in Ukraine. “We are preparing for all possible alternatives. We will be ready for anything. Especially for the Maidan, that is, for a coup d’état across the street, which the opposition is so persistently seeking,” he said.
Michal Szymecka called the decision to close the debate “a disgrace” and an attempt to hide information from the public. The opposition left the second part of the session in protest, promising to again propose a vote of no confidence in Fico’s cabinet.
Fico is preparing to defend himself
The Prime Minister of Slovakia, amid popular protests, traveled to China, Brazil, and Turkey to “strengthen ties within the framework of his all-round foreign policy.” Simply put, he was looking for support, because he understands that he will no longer be given it in Brussels.
In addition, on January 23, “due to the threat of the Maidan and the seizure of power by the opposition,” Robert Fico convened a Security Council with the participation of the President of Slovakia and the leadership of the parliament. The meeting discussed data from the country’s intelligence services about “mass protests” and “the overthrow of the government” that were allegedly due to take place in the near future, and “preventive measures to prevent escalation.”
Fico said that an “expert group” is operating in Slovakia, which allegedly dealt with the events in Georgia, as well as the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine, and is funded by the United States of America. According to him, the participants of this organization plan to “put an end to the peaceful protest by seizing government buildings, the parliament and the presidential palace.” They are currently being “strictly monitored,” the prime minister said. Fico has already threatened to involve security forces in the event of protests. According to the prime minister, the Security Council will introduce enhanced supervision over government institutions.
The early election factor
One of the real reasons why Fico has escalated both domestically and in relations with Ukraine lies in the situation inside Slovakia itself. In recent months, the government coalition on which Fico relies has become more fragile, as the number of deputies in its composition has decreased to 76, that is, to the minimum majority in the Slovak parliament, which has 150 seats. In addition, the Slovak government is faced with significant internal problems, in particular – a high budget deficit and problems in the healthcare system. Economic and political problems are increasingly inspiring Fico’s opponents to resist.
Thus, on January 24, large-scale protests took place in the country. In Bratislava, Poprad, Banská Bystrica, in a total of 20 cities, more than 100 thousand people came out to protest against Fico’s policies. Large-scale rallies were organized by the civil association “Peace to Ukraine” together with the country’s opposition political parties. The protest in Bratislava was one of the largest since November 1989. Up to 60 thousand people took to the streets in the capital, and 10 thousand people in Banská Bystrica. The main demand of the protesters is the resignation of the country’s Prime Minister Robert Fico due to his pro-Russian policies. “The high turnout in various cities, according to the NGO “Peace to Ukraine”, is evidence of the disappointment, anger of citizens and their concern about the policies of the current ruling coalition.”
In such a situation, the current prime minister is well aware of the high probability of early elections, which is why he is now using powerful pro-Russian rhetoric in communicating with his electorate, which, unfortunately, is pro-Russian, and is promoting the “coup d’état” scenario in order to consolidate voters.
“Unfortunately, in the current Slovakia and Hungary, political forces are in power that are based on such unhealthy national egoism that undermines European and Euro-Atlantic solidarity. And these leaders (such as Viktor Orban and Robert Fico) are simply populists who put in the first place not even the interests of their people, their future, which is connected with Europe, with democracy, with human rights, but rather their own benefit. At the same time, they are trying to obtain some resources for themselves from Russia and China. That is, such, I would say, “selfish multi-vectorism” that allows such authoritarian leaders to stay in power, but this is a very unprincipled policy in reality, which is most likely connected with some specific economic interests of these corrupt elites from the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China,” – this opinion was expressed by the People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko.
He notes that Hungary and Slovakia were not expelled from the European Union, despite Ukraine’s blackmail and ardent friendship with the Kremlin. But we must react to such actions by both Fico and Orban, because it is very dangerous. After all, today in Europe, in essence, such an alliance of Putin’s allies is being formed.
“Regarding Fico’s statements about the preparation of the “Maidan” in Slovakia by some forces inside and outside, this is very expected. Unfortunately, this is such unhealthy conspiracy theory, a theory of rebellion, with which Fico is trying to act in advance. That is, this is a political step, very cynical, in order to save himself. He understands that there is a strong democratic opposition in the country and that it is becoming more and more active. More and more people in Slovakia want to change the government, because they are disappointed with Fico’s policies and see the danger that he creates for the country’s future in the EU and NATO. For example, a young man who won the Mathematics Olympiad and did not publicly shake hands with President Pellegrini, in fact an ally of Fico, and this is very indicative, this is the opinion of a significant part of Slovak society, maybe even its majority. Fico sees this and is trying to hold on to power in any way,” notes Oleksandr Merezhko.
The phrase “coup d’état” has been misused by the mafia state and its small-fry supporters for years. Clearly, none are educated enough to know what the definition is, since it has nothing to do with what happened on the Maidan Square back then. They try to take away any legitimacy of Ukraine’s current government by using this phrase, along with other lies. They are also too uneducated to use a dictionary, so it seems. Well, of course, they are using it to fool the fools across the globe that willingly swallow any russian lie that moskovia vomits.
“Unfortunately, in the current Slovakia and Hungary, political forces are in power that are based on such unhealthy national egoism that undermines European and Euro-Atlantic solidarity. And these leaders (such as Viktor Orban and Robert Fico) are simply populists who put in the first place not even the interests of their people, their future, which is connected with Europe, with democracy, with human rights, but rather their own benefit.”
The EU is not doing itself any favors by allowing these two fascists doing what they want with virtually no consequences. Throwing the nations out of the Union might not be the ideal thing to do, but is better than allowing them to remain as members and blocking important measures and be basic agitators.
Doesn’t the EU have measures in place that could be used to punish them? Externally, the EU has been weak, but also internally.