Zelenskyy: Ukraine Offered Help to Slovakia During Gas Crisis, But Fico Bet on Moscow

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed offensive remarks made by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, emphasizing that Fico rejected Ukraine’s offer to help mitigate the effects of halting Russian gas supplies on X on January 12.

“It’s good that Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico has finally returned from his vacation at a luxurious hotel in Vietnam and is now in Bratislava. For him, personally, it must be challenging—switching from living in luxury to now trying to fix his own mistakes,” Zelenskyy remarked.

Zelenskyy criticized Fico for clinging to “shadowy schemes” of cooperation with Russia, calling it an “obvious mistake”.

“We offered our assistance to the people of Slovakia during their adaptation to the absence of Russian gas transit, but Fico arrogantly refused. Many in Europe warned him that doing nothing and waiting was not an option. Now, he’s resorting to PR, lies, and loud accusations to shift the blame away from himself onto someone else,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy further noted that “The real problem is that he bet on Moscow, not on his own country, not on a united Europe, and certainly not on common sense. From the beginning, it was a losing bet.”

Zelenskyy further expressed optimism that Europe’s efforts to diversify energy supplies, in cooperation with the European Commission, and potentially increased deliveries of US gas would help address the challenges caused by what he described as “short-sighted decisions by certain European leaders.”

Earlier this week, Fico referred to Zelenskyy as a “beggar and blackmailer” and referenced grievances related to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.