Fico has halted emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine: what does this mean for the power grid?
23 February 23:20
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico announced the suspension of emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine. He linked this decision to the failure to resume Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline. Fico announced this on Facebook on the evening of February 23, noting that he had “done what he announced on Saturday,” according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to him, if oil supplies are not resumed, he will instruct the Slovak electricity transmission system operator SEPS to stop emergency electricity supplies to Ukraine.
Why Slovakia stopped emergency aid
Fico stressed that in January 2026, Ukraine needed more emergency electricity supplies than in the whole of 2025.
“In January 2026 alone, twice as many emergency supplies were needed to stabilize Ukraine’s power system as in the whole of 2025,” said the head of the Slovak government.
The decision is related to the issue of Russian oil transit through Druzhba, which, according to Fico, has not yet been restored.
Ukrenergo’s reaction: there will be no impact on the system
NPC Ukrenergo stated that the possible termination of emergency assistance from Slovakia will not affect the operation of Ukraine’s integrated power system.
“The last time Ukraine requested emergency assistance from Slovakia was over a month ago and in very limited quantities. In general, emergency assistance from Slovakia has been quite rare. We are talking about short-term supplies,” the company said.
Ukrenergo also noted that it had not yet received any official documents regarding the unilateral termination of the agreement.
ENTSO-E agreement and rules
The transmission system operators of Ukraine and Slovakia — NPC Ukrenergo and SEPS — are members of ENTSO-E.
The parties have an agreement on mutual emergency assistance. On February 23, 2026, Ukrenergo received a letter from the Slovak operator regarding the revision of the payment terms under the current agreement.
At the same time, the Ukrainian side emphasized:
“There are currently no restrictions on commercial electricity imports from Slovakia. The allocated capacity of interconnections is used in accordance with the results of auctions.”
The distributed capacity of inter-state crossings is used in accordance with the results of auctions.
Is there a risk to the Ukrainian power system?
Emergency supplies are a short-term stabilization tool in critical situations. They are not a systemic source of electricity.
According to Ukrenergo, such supplies from Slovakia were used rarely and in limited volumes. Therefore, even a complete cessation of emergency assistance will not pose a critical threat to Ukraine’s IPS.
However, the situation has a political context and may affect energy cooperation in the region.
Oil, Druzhba, and political pressure
Fico’s statement is directly related to the issue of Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline. Earlier, he announced possible retaliatory measures if supplies were not resumed.
Thus, the suspension of emergency electricity supplies appears to be a tool of political pressure rather than an economically critical decision.
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