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.

Ukraine has halted Russian gas supplies to European customers through its pipeline network, almost three years into Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbor

Ukraine, which had allowed Russian oil and gas to cross its territory to serve Europe while fighting Moscow’s invasion since 2022, refused to renew the deal.

Fico said that Slovakia could halt its humanitarian aid to Ukraine, cut or cancel social benefits for Ukrainian refugees, and cease emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. He also suggested using veto power over EU decisions as leverage against Kyiv.

The Nato alliance has been rocked by a warning from Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico who threatened to retaliate against Ukraine if a solution is not found to Kyiv's decision to shut off Russian

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.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has expanded his threats against Ukraine over Kyiv's suspension of Russian natural gas transit. Source: Teraz.sk, citing Fico's words in Brussels after talks with European Commission officials on 9 January,