Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, has said that he will block any European Union proposal requiring Slovakia to help finance Ukraine’s military.
Fico, the leader of Slovakia’s governing populist Smer party, told a parliamentary session on Thursday that he had written an official letter to European Council President António Costa ahead of the upcoming EU summit.
He then recorded a video of himself reading the letter to parliament, which he also sent to Costa.
The letter said: “Slovakia will not be part of plans that only prolong suffering and killing. At the upcoming European Council, I will not support any solution that would finance Ukraine’s military expenditures.”
Clear position
In the video, Fico said: “Dear President of the European Council, allow me to express myself to the recent proposals of the European Commission to secure Ukraine’s financial needs for 2026–27, including the use of frozen Russian assets.
“I have long and clearly expressed my positions on the military conflict in Ukraine. This conflict has no military solution. The EU’s strategy toward the conflict is wrong and ineffective, and continuing the war is only senseless killing without strengthening Ukraine’s position for peace talks.
“I very clearly announce that I am not in a position to support at the upcoming European Council any solution to Ukraine’s financial needs that would include covering Ukraine’s military expenditures in the coming years,” he added.
Fico’s stance puts Slovakia at odds with most EU leaders, who back continued aid for Ukraine, but it echoes the position of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.
Excuses
Fico also said frozen Russian assets should not be used for military support: “The use of frozen Russian assets may directly threaten American peace efforts, which count on using these resources for the reconstruction of Ukraine.”
He said Slovakia remains helpful in non-military areas. “In the humanitarian area we help Ukraine in many fields. We supply electricity, and with reverse flow even gas.” He pointed to border infrastructure, railway links, and nearly 200,000 Ukrainians living in Slovakia.
He added that he respects other EU states’ right to make voluntary decisions.