Thousands of people took to the streets on Friday in Bratislava and other Slovak cities to protest against their government’s alignment with Moscow during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, a nationalist and one of the few Kremlin allies within the European Union, has sought to strengthen ties with Moscow and has halted all military aid to Ukraine since his return to power in October 2023.
After recovering from his assassination attempt in May 2024, he recently travelled to the Russian capital to meet President Vladimir Putin following Ukraine’s decision to stop the transit of Russian gas through its territory, which also supplied Europe via Slovakia.
"We are Europe! We are ashamed of Fico! We will not surrender Slovakia!, chanted thousands of demonstrators in Bratislava’s central square. Local media reported protests in about ten Slovak cities.
On Friday, Robert Fico told Parliament that Russian President Vladimir Putin had promised Russian gas to Slovakia. Europe still receives Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline and liquefied gas transported by sea.
After the closure of the pipeline crossing through Slovakia, Fico threatened to cut off Ukraine's electricity supplies, as well as humanitarian aid, to the war-torn country whose energy infrastructure is targeted by Russian bombings. He also threatened to reduce aid provided to Ukrainian war refugees in Slovakia.
The Slovak Prime Minister has also claimed to have proposed hosting peace negotiations in Slovakia, a NATO member. This initiative was denounced by Kyiv as playing into Moscow’s hands, which has repeatedly stated it would only consider peace on its terms.
