"Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced the termination of electricity supplies to Ukraine and threatened to join Hungary in blocking the latest 90 billion euro loan from the European Union (EU) unless oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline restarts. “The finance minister received instructions for the company to SEPS terminate the contract related to emergency electricity supplies for Ukraine,” he stated at a press conference in Bratislava on Wednesday. “The more President Zelensky pressures us, the more he will press us, that I will join the Hungarians in blocking the 90 billion loan. Well, go ahead, President Zelensky, just test our patience,” Fico continued. “You have cost us 500 million in fees that we could be receiving for gas. Now the oil has stopped.” The Slovak leader reiterated his accusation that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lied about the pipeline's condition, stressing that neither Slovak nor EU representatives were allowed to inspect the allegedly damaged section.  “Why, when President Zelensky claims that it is terribly damaged, he does not want to let anyone in there?” he questioned. “What is President Zelensky afraid of? The truth? Or does he need time to destroy it?” As confirmation of his claims, Fico showed satellite images as evidence that “nothing was damaged to such an extent that would prevent Ukraine from supplying oil to Slovakia, Hungary, and Europe”. The Ukrainian side had not commented on the claim made or the satellite images at the time of publication. It comes after Hungary and Slovakia have accused Ukraine of deliberately halting oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline from Russia for political reasons, while Kiev claims the line was damaged by a 'Russian attack'. The EU said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had urged Zelensky to 'accelerate' repairs. Hungary has halted diesel supplies to Ukraine and blocked the 20th package of EU sanctions on Russia, and said it would halt the bloc's latest €90 billion loan to Ukraine unless the oil supply through the pipeline continues. The Druzhba pipeline has long been a key route for Russian oil deliveries to parts of Central Europe, including Hungary, even as the EU has moved to curb reliance on Russian oil following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022."