Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday (8 January) he had secured Slovakia's gas supply during a visit to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, just before Ukraine halted the transit of gas from Russia at the start of 2025.

A delegation of Slovakia's far-right MPs, led by Deputy Speaker and leader of the nationalist party SNS Andrej Danko, is set to travel to Russia in January to "develop dialogue" following the visit by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

A Russian guided bomb attack on Wednesday killed at least 13 people and injured 29 others in Ukraine’s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, said authorities, adding that the number of victims could rise further.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a recent visit to Moscow that his country was prepared to broker peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported Thursday.

It seems that Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to open a second energy front against Ukraine. This was stated by the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky.

Robert Fico sharply responded to criticism from the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, and threatened to stop supplying electricity to Ukraine. He stated this in his address on social networks.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander ...

(Reuters) - Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will discuss the end of Russian gas transit through Ukraine with representatives of the European Commission on Jan. 9 in Brussels, Slovakia's government office said on Tuesday.

The future of gas transit through Ukraine is at a turning point. If a last-minute deal isn’t struck by Wednesday, billions of cubic meters in gas flows could come to a halt.Most Read from BloombergMig

Vladimir Putin said Slovakia's prime minister offered on his recent visit to Moscow to host potential talks between Russia and Ukraine. Robert Fico made the trip as a halt to Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine beckons.

Mr Zelensky accuses Slovakia's PM of opening a "second energy front" against Ukraine on the orders of Russia. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Wednesday he had secured Slovakia's gas supply during a visit to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, just before Ukraine halted the transit of gas from Russia at the start of 2025.