Slovakia threatens to cut benefits for Ukrainians
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut off financial aid for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as a dispute with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies escalates.
On January 1st, Kiev shut down a pipeline It was used to supply Russian natural gas to Central Europe for decades.
Slovakia was the main entry point and the country will now lose millions of euros in transit fees.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates Last month there were 130,530 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia out of 6,813,900 globally.
Fade – Who in December Made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin – described Kyiv’s move as “sabotage”.
The prime minister of an EU state said he would propose to halt electricity exports to Ukraine and “sharply reduce” financial aid for Ukrainians seeking asylum in Slovakia.
He said there was no risk of Slovakia suffering from a gas shortage, as it had already made alternative arrangements.
But Fico said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s decision to turn off the tap would deprive Slovakia of 500 million euros (£415 million; $518 million) in transit fees from other countries.
He said his party was ready to debate “stopping electricity supplies” and “a significant reduction in support for Ukrainian citizens in Slovakia”.
He said, “The only option for sovereign Slovakia is to renew the transit or demand a compensation mechanism that would compensate for the losses in public finances.”
Last month Zelensky accused Fico of helping Putin “fund the war and weaken Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian president said, “FICO is dragging Slovakia into Russia in efforts to create more suffering for Ukrainians.”
Poland has offered Kiev support in the event Slovakia cuts its electricity exports – supplies that are vital to Ukraine, whose power plants come under regular attack from Russia.
Poland’s government called the cut-off “another victory” against Moscow, while the European Commission said the EU had prepared for the change and most states could cope with it.
Moldova, which is not in the EU, is already facing shortages.
Russia can still send gas to Hungary, Türkiye and Serbia via the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea.
