A significant number of demonstrators in Bratislava were Ukrainians, Slovak leader Robert Fico said
Ukrainians were a major force behind large anti-government demonstrations held across Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed on Saturday. He made his comment after Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky endorsed the protests on social media.
Up to 100,000 people joined the protests in more than 20 cities on Friday, including around 60,000 participants in Bratislava, local media reported, citing the number provided by organizers.
The protesters demanded that the government abandon friendly relations with Russia in favor of closer cooperation with the EU and NATO. They carried placards saying “No collaboration with Russia” and “We are Europe and not Russia.” Some carried Ukrainian flags and signs with pro-Kiev slogans, including a placard that read “I am here, on the Maidan,” referring to the 2013-2014 pro-Western Euromaidan protests in Ukraine.
According to the Slovak media, a group called ‘Peace for Ukraine’ was one of the NGOs that organized the demonstrations. Zelensky backed the protests on X, writing, “Bratislava is not Moscow, Slovenia is Europe.”
Speaking to national broadcaster STVR, Fico claimed that “a third [of the protesters] are Ukrainians who are against the Slovak government.” He accused the organizers of spreading “deceptive” claims that Slovakia was about to part ways with the EU.
“Nobody is going to leave the EU. Their problem is my sovereign stance on foreign policy issues,” Fico said. “I don’t want anyone to dismantle the republic because they do not like this government’s views on Ukraine,” he added.
Fico brushed off the calls for his resignation, saying that his cabinet was “too seasoned and experienced” to be toppled by NGOs and activists who he said were also active in Ukraine and Georgia.
After winning elections in 2023, Fico and his SMER-SD party reversed the previous government’s decision to send weapons to Kiev. He has since insisted that the conflict should be resolved through diplomacy and criticized the EU’s sanctions on Russia.
Fico has threatened to cut electricity supplies to Ukraine unless Kiev resumes the transit of Russian natural gas to Central Europe. Slovakia had received most of its gas through a Soviet-era pipeline that runs through Ukrainian territory. Ukraine has refused to renew its contract with Russia’s gas operator, Gazprom, after which the flow stopped on January 1.
The prime minister also claimed that two recent cyberattacks on the Slovak state-run agencies were orchestrated by foreign forces that participated in the 2014 pro-Western coup in Kiev.
