Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced his intention to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine if Ukraine does not resume oil supplies on Monday, February 23, which were interrupted after an accident on the Druzhba oil pipeline near the Ukrainian city of Brody in the Lviv region in January.
“If the Ukrainian president does not resume oil supplies to Slovakia on Monday, then on the same day I will ask the relevant Slovak companies to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine,” Fico wrote on Twitter.
He also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of allegedly “refusing to understand our peacemaking approach” and therefore, according to Fico, “behaving maliciously towards Slovakia,” which he believes treats Slovakia “as an enemy country.”
“First, he stopped gas supplies to Slovakia, causing us losses of €500 million a year. Now he has stopped oil supplies, causing us further losses and logistical difficulties. If the West does not object to the Nord Stream gas pipeline being blown up, Slovakia cannot view Slovak-Ukrainian relations as a one-way ticket that is only beneficial to Ukraine,” the Slovak prime minister wrote.
Fico added that he is a “proud and sovereign Slovak” and intends to ask the state-owned joint-stock company SEPS to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. “In January 2026 alone, these emergency supplies, necessary to stabilize the Ukrainian power grid, were twice as much as in the whole of 2025,” he said.
The head of the Slovak government also stressed that Slovakia has been helping Ukraine since the beginning of the war. “About 180,000 Ukrainians are currently on our territory, we are providing humanitarian aid and organizing joint government meetings. We are doing much more for Ukraine than some other countries,” Fico wrote.
As reported, on February 18, the export of diesel fuel from Hungary to Ukraine was suspended until the resumption of Russian crude oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline, said Hungarian State Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Relations Zoltán Kovács. In his opinion, Ukraine “unilaterally stopped supplies on January 27 for purely political reasons, although technically their resumption is possible.” Statements about the suspension of diesel exports to Ukraine also came from the Slovak side.
Earlier, Hungary and Slovakia asked Croatia to allow Russian oil to be supplied to Hungary and Slovakia via the Adria pipeline. Meanwhile, Slovakia has declared a state of emergency in the oil industry due to the lack of oil supplies.
Croatian Economy Minister Ante Šušnjar, in turn, said that the Adria pipeline is ready for operation, but that there are no technical justifications for any EU country to remain tied to Russian crude oil. “A barrel bought from Russia may seem cheaper for some countries, but it helps finance the war and attacks on the Ukrainian people,” he said.
The transport of Russian crude oil through Ukraine via the Druzhba pipeline has been halted since the end of last month due to large-scale Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
According to Serbian Economist, Serbian Prime Minister Džuro Mačut stated at a meeting with the new Ukrainian ambassador to Belgrade, Alexander Litvinenko, that Serbia will continue to provide humanitarian aid to vulnerable groups in Ukraine within the limits of its capabilities.
According to a statement on the Serbian government’s website, this assistance will take the form of financial support and supplies of medical and electrical equipment. Matuz also noted that Belgrade is closely monitoring developments in Ukraine, especially the impact on the civilian population and the humanitarian situation.
The ambassador, in turn, expressed his gratitude for the assistance that Serbia has already provided to Ukraine.
Litvinenko is the new head of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Serbia and presented his credentials on February 3, 2026.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu signed a decree on Friday appointing economist and entrepreneur Alexander Munteanu as prime minister after her party won last month’s parliamentary elections.
The decree was published on the Moldovan president’s website.
“I wish him success in forming a government that will gain the trust of parliament and meet the most important expectations of citizens: protecting peace, preparing the country for EU accession, strengthening the economy, and improving people’s living standards,” the head of state said.
According to the document, “the designated candidate must present to parliament a team and a management program in order to obtain a vote of confidence and invest the new government of the Republic of Moldova.”
According to the Moldovan publication Point, Sandu signed the decree after consultations with the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS).
It is noted that Munteanu is an economist, professor, and entrepreneur with 25 years of experience in international investment.
According to open sources, Munteanu lived in Ukraine for 20 years. He is 61 years old. He calls himself “an American of Moldovan origin” and has not previously been involved in politics. He is a successful businessman, founder of the investment company 4i Capital Partners, operating in Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus, and has experience working for companies such as WNISEF/Horizon Capital and Dragon Capital.
Moldova is a unitary parliamentary republic.
Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko on Sunday announced a one-year moratorium on inspections and limitation of tax and customs inspections.
“The government together with law enforcement agencies and under the coordination of the National Security and Defense Council is preparing a solution that will give business more freedom. A one-year moratorium on inspections is planned. This issue has already been discussed with President Vladimir Zelensky – his instruction is clear: to give more freedom to internal economic forces. This also means continuing the detenization of the economy, ensuring a level playing field that benefits white businesses,” she wrote on Facebook.
They have also started auditing criminal cases against businesses, she said. The priority is to close baseless proceedings that block business activity. New cases will be authorized only by the Prosecutor General or heads of regional and district level.
In addition, tax and customs inspections will be limited in parallel. Control over the legality of investigative actions will also be strengthened. Inspections will only be in high-risk sectors, and bona fide businesses will receive protection. “We are ready to initiate changes to the laws for better protection of businesses, reform of supervision and fair use of confiscated assets of the Russian Federation,” Sviridenko said.
The prime minister added that grants for the production of ammunition and explosives are also scheduled to be launched next week. “This is support for the defense industry and localization of critical production facilities. The details are already after the decision of the Government. The project is coordinated by Mikhail Fedorov and Denis Shmygal,” Sviridenko writes
annual moratorium, business inspections, PRIME MINISTER, СВИРИДЕНКО
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko on Monday and offered her the position of prime minister and asked her to significantly revamp the government.
“I had a meeting with First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko. There was a report on the implementation of agreements with European and American partners on support for Ukraine, which were reached at the recent conference on Ukraine’s recovery. We must implement as quickly as possible everything that can support the stability of our state and society,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram on Monday.
According to him, during the meeting with Svyrydenko, they discussed “specific measures that could strengthen Ukraine’s economic potential, expand support programs for Ukrainians, and scale up our own weapons production.”
The president noted that to this end, we are beginning to transform the executive branch in Ukraine. “I have offered Yulia Svyrydenko to head the Ukrainian government and significantly revamp its work. I look forward to the new government’s action plan in the near future,” he wrote.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has announced the continuation of military support for Ukraine, despite threats from Russia.
“When you have friends in need, you show your friendship, your solidarity and your support in full. This is what we do. This is what we will continue to do in the future, despite all the threats you might mention,” Plenkovic said at a press conference within the framework of the Crimean Platform in Kyiv on Wednesday, answering the question whether he was not afraid of threats from Russia while providing military support to Ukraine.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, the Croatian prime minister added that his country “is a NATO member, a member of the European Union, a country that knows when the right time comes to help our friends.”
“We will also support you in rebuilding your energy sector by providing you with the specific know-how that Croatia has in the field of demining. This is a huge task, and that is why we held the first International Conference of Heads of Mine Action last year in Croatia,” Plenković said.
“And, of course, what few countries can provide you with is the experience of our state prosecutors, our judges, our specialized police units in prosecuting war crimes,” he added.
The head of the Croatian government also noted that Croatia continues to accept refugees and war veterans from Ukraine for treatment and accommodation in its veterans’ centers, “and we will continue to do so, as well as to accept groups of Ukrainian children visiting Croatia.”
“We will continue to help you and assist you with military assistance, political assistance, our diplomatic initiatives, we are very happy to host you in Dubrovnik in early October, where we will hold a summit between Ukraine and the countries of Southeast Europe… You can count on Croatia in all the issues you face here today,” Plenkovic added.
As previously reported on the Croatian government’s website, during Plenkovic’s visit to Kyiv, a new package of bilateral assistance from Croatia to Ukraine was presented.
