"I was waiting for one Slovak leader, but another arrived. The meeting with Slovak parliamentarians was productive. The delegation was led by Michal Šimečka. We had a focused and constructive discussion." He added that Ukraine and Slovakia's interstate relations should strengthen, benefiting both nations rather than Russia.

A group of far-right Slovak MPs, led by Andrej Danko, Deputy Speaker and leader of the nationalist Slovak National Party, has departed for Russia on a visit set to last several days. They intend to discuss the continuation of Russian gas deliveries after transit through Ukraine became impossible. Details: The delegation, led by Danko and Tibor Gašpar, a member of Prime Minister Robert Fico's Smer-SD party, set off on Sunday, 12 January.

For 14 days, it has been unclear where Robert Fico is, as he has not appeared publicly since his trip to Moscow, reported the Dennik N newspaper's portal on Friday. Although he is not in Bratislava, a protest was organized in front of the government headquarters. According to Dennik N journalists, a recording with Fico might have been made at the luxurious Capella Hotel in Hanoi, in the Madame Butterfly apartment. A portal reader noted details suggesting that the video might have been recorded there. Journalists contacted the hotel and asked to be connected to the apartment that Fico might be renting. The call was redirected, but no one answered. The receptionist explained that the person is probably not in the room.

It appears that Putin gave Fico the order to open the second energy front against Ukraine at the expense of the Slovak people’s interests, said Zelensky on Saturday in a lengthy post on the X platform. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico threatened Ukraine on Friday with cutting off electricity supplies if Kyiv follows through on its announcement to halt the transit of Russian gas to Slovakia after the New Year. On December 22, he met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss, among other things, the issue of further gas supplies.

Thousands took to the streets in the Slovak capital Bratislava on Friday, 3 December in protest at Prime Minister Robert Fico's foreign policy actions. Details: Around 4,000 people braved freezing weather to express their dissatisfaction with Fico's pro-Russian policy. "Slovakia, beware, the occupation has begun" the protest organisers declared in one of their slogans. One banner read: "Fico, go to Moscow, leave Slovakia in peace."