Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said he will block any European Union solution that finances Ukraine’s military expenditures, accusing Western Europe of treating Russian and Ukrainian lives as being “worth shit” and of prolonging what he described as senseless bloodshed.
In a post on X, Fico said he had held an almost hour-long phone conversation with European Council President António Costa focused on EU funding for Ukraine.
“While he spoke about money for the war in Ukraine, I kept repeating the senseless daily killing of hundreds to thousands of Russians and Ukrainians,” Fico wrote.
“If for Western Europe the life of a Russian or a Ukrainian is worth shit, I do not want to be part of such a Western Europe.”
Fico said he told Costa that Slovakia would not support any measure leading to EU financing of Ukraine’s military costs, regardless of how long negotiations might last. “I told A. Costa that I will not support anything, even if we have to sit in Brussels until the New Year, which would lead to support for Ukraine’s military expenditures,” he wrote.
The post accompanied the publication of a formal letter sent by Fico to Costa and to all EU prime ministers ahead of the next European Council meeting, where the European Commission’s proposals to secure Ukraine’s financial needs for 2026 and 2027, including the possible use of frozen Russian assets, are expected to be discussed.
In the letter, Fico stated that Slovakia would not back any solution that includes funding Ukraine’s military expenses.
“At the upcoming European Council, I am not in the position to support any solution to Ukraine’s financial needs that would include covering Ukraine’s military expenses for the coming years,” he wrote.
Fico argued that there was no military solution to the conflict and that continued arms financing was extending the war.
“The policy of peace that I consistently advocate prevents me from voting in favor of prolonging military conflict, because providing tens of billions of euros for military spending is prolonging the war,” he said.
He also warned against using frozen Russian assets for military purposes, arguing this could undermine peace efforts, including those led by the United States, which he said envisaged using such assets for Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction. He recalled raising these concerns at an informal EU meeting in Angola and pointed to corruption risks in Ukraine.
While rejecting EU-funded military support, Fico said Slovakia would continue to assist Ukraine in non-military areas. He cited humanitarian aid, electricity supplies, gas delivered through reverse flow, infrastructure projects, and support for nearly 200,000 Ukrainian refugees living in Slovakia. He reiterated Slovakia’s support for Ukraine’s accession to the European Union, while noting that some member states were increasingly voicing reservations about early membership.
Fico said his position was final and would not change under pressure or prolonged negotiations. “I cannot, and will not under any pressure, endorse any solution to support Ukraine’s military expenditures in which the Slovak Republic would participate,” he wrote, while adding that he respected the right of other EU member states to pursue different approaches on a voluntary basis.
The European Council has not publicly responded to Fico’s remarks.
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