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.

However, Fico says it will cost Slovakia 1 billion euros ($1 billion) a year in higher prices for the gas it uses and 500 million euros in onward transit fees. He has threatened to cut emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine as Russia attacks its power grid,

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.

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico said he wasn’t ruling out the resumption of gas through Ukraine after a deal between Kyiv and Moscow expired at the beginning of this year.

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

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,

By Albin Sybera Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico has stepped up his anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, saying that Slovakia could halt all its humanitarian aid for Ukraine and Ukrainians in Slovakia,