‘Due to Kyiv’s sanctions against Lukoil, Ukraine itself will not receive petroleum products’, – said Slovak Prime Minister Fico

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico criticized Ukrainian sanctions against “Lukoil,” stating that they will ultimately affect fuel supplies to Ukraine. The oil that Ukraine has blocked from Slovakia and Hungary was used at the Slovnaft refinery, which supplies a tenth of its products to Ukraine.

Fico made these remarks during a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal.

Fico called the Ukrainian sanctions “senseless” because, in his opinion, they harm not Russia but some European Union countries.

“Slovakia does not intend to be a hostage of Ukrainian-Russian relations, and the decision of the Ukrainian president means that the Slovak refinery Slovnaft, part of the Hungarian MOL group, will receive 40% less oil than it needs for processing. This will impact not only the Slovak market but could also lead to the cessation of Slovnaft oil supplies to Ukraine, which accounts for almost a tenth of Ukraine’s total consumption,” said the Slovak Prime Minister.

It was previously reported that Hungary faces a fuel crisis due to Ukraine blocking the transit of Russian oil. High prices and electricity shortages could hit Hungary in just a few weeks. Kyiv’s decision raises serious concerns about supply shortages in Budapest, which gets 70 percent of its oil imports from Russia, with “Lukoil” providing half of that volume.

Additionally, Slovakia has reported that it has stopped receiving Russian oil through the Ukrainian pipeline.