Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut financial support for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as the dispute with Ukraine escalates over Russian gas.
On January 1, Kyiv blocked the pipeline that for decades it was used to supply Central Europe with Russian natural gas.
Slovakia was the main entry point and the country will now lose millions of euros in travel fees.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates last month that there were 130,530 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia out of 6,813,900 worldwide.
Fico – who is December made a surprise visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin – described Kyiv’s move as “destructive”.
An EU country’s prime minister has said he will propose freezing electricity exports to Ukraine and “significantly reduce” financial support for Ukrainians who have taken refuge in Slovakia.
He said there is no risk that Slovakia itself will suffer from a gas shortage, as it has already made other plans.
But Fico added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to turn off the taps would deprive Slovakia of 500 million euros (£415m; $518m) in import costs.
Last month Zelensky accused Fico of helping Putin “fund the war and weaken Ukraine”.
“Fico is dragging Slovakia into Russia’s efforts to cause the suffering of the Ukrainian people,” the Ukrainian president said.
Poland has promised to support Kyiv if Slovakia cuts off its electricity exports – vital to Ukraine, whose power plants are regularly attacked by Russia.
The Polish government called the cut “another victory” against Moscow, while the European Commission said the EU was ready for the change and many countries could face it.
Moldova, which is not in the EU, already has a deficit problem.
Russia can still send gas to Hungary, Turkey and Serbia through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea.
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