After Hungary, Slovakia also stops supplying diesel to Ukraine

Slovakia stops exporting diesel fuel to Ukraine, following Hungary, which was the first to announce the suspension of supplies on the same day, February 18. The reason for this was the shutdown of the Druzhba pipeline in the Brody region of Ukraine: Kyiv stopped oil transit through this route, which prompted both countries to take reciprocal measures. Prime Minister Robert Fico announced Slovakia's decision, citing the Slovak government website and the Standart publication.

Fico emphasized that the Slovnaft refinery stops exporting diesel fuel to Ukraine, and all its products will be destined for the domestic market. According to him, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly decided not to resume oil supplies to Slovakia for "political reasons" in order to provoke a fuel supply crisis and influence the domestic political scene. Fico emphasized that the government is ready for such a situation.

"Slovnaft stops exporting diesel fuel to Ukraine and any other export goods, and everything that it will now process at home in Slovakia will be focused on the Slovak market. There is no risk of a shortage of fuel or other petroleum products in Slovakia," the Prime Minister said

Fico also said that he had talked to the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Ukraine about the details of the shutdown of the Druzhba oil pipeline at Cape Brody in Ukraine. The Prime Minister noted that Ukraine has not yet provided any information about the incident, so the Slovak ambassador to Ukraine has submitted an official note to Ukrainian representatives asking for an explanation.

"I will suggest that our ambassador ask for an opportunity to visit Brody. Not only he, but also an expert group from Slovakia - let's see with our own eyes what happened there: whether there is really damage, as Ukraine claims, or whether it is a fiction, because our intelligence information shows that the pipeline has been repaired and is technically ready for oil supplies. We will also appeal to the European Commission to send a monitoring team to examine what really happened in Brody, because if it is political blackmail, as in the case of gas, it is absolutely unacceptable," Fico said.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on February 18, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó was the first to announce that his country has stopped supplying diesel fuel to Ukraine until the Druzhba pipeline is restored.

Last year, Hungary and Slovakia supplied about 10% of Ukraine's total diesel imports.

After 2021, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic completely refused to receive russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline.

Market share of diesel by source of supply (2025)