Thousands of protesters in the Slovak capital held banners and chanted slogans on Friday accusing Prime Minister Robert Fico of dragging the country towards Russia after he met President Vladimir Putin last month amid a gas dispute with Ukraine.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wasn’t ruling out the resumption of gas through Ukraine after a deal between Kyiv and Moscow expired at the beginning of this year.

Fico asserts that Bratislava could "stop any humanitarian aid to Ukraine, decide on significant reduction or complete cancellation of benefits for Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, or stop electricity supplies in emergency situations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Slovakia that Russia's Gazprom would find alternative ways to deliver contracted gas to Slovakia after the end of transit through Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday.

Under the slogan "Slovakia is Europe! - We've had enough of Russia!" Slovakian supporters of Ukraine demonstrated in Bratislava on Friday against Prime Minister Robert Fico. The protest rally in front of the government office was called by the citizens' initiative "Mier Ukrajine" (Peace for Ukraine),

Pro-Russia separatist enclave, which fought against Moldova in 1992, declare a state of emergency over the end of shipments

Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday he had secured Slovakia's gas supply during a visit to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, just before Ukraine halted the transit of gas from Russia at the start of 2025.

Ukraine rejected Slovakia's claims that it had refused to participate in trilateral talks with the EU and Slovakia on Russian gas transit. Slovak, Ukrainian, and European Commission representatives were scheduled to meet on Jan.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the cessation of Russian gas transit through Ukraine as one of Moscow's greatest defeats in the ongoing conflict. The move signifies a critical shift in energy dynamics,