Help us keep bringing the truth to light, even when Russia turns the lights out.

Shop and support
News Feed

Slovak PM calls war in Ukraine a frozen conflict

• 2 min read
Slovak PM calls war in Ukraine a frozen conflict
Slovakia's new Prime Minister, Robert Fico, in Prague on Nov. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

During a state visit to Prague on Nov. 24, Slovakia's new Prime Minister, Robert Fico, called the war in Ukraine a frozen conflict that cannot be solved by sending arms to Ukraine.

The Slovak leader visited Prague on Nov. 24 to meet with the Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. After the meeting, Fico stated that he would prefer the Russian and Ukrainian sides sit at a negotiation table but didn't specify how to achieve that.

Czechia has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine throughout the full-scale invasion and has provided substantial military aid to Ukraine.  

“There’s no doubt we have different views of some issues,” the Czech Prime Minister stated on Friday.

Fico reportedly said he respects the Czech position and repeated Slovakia was ready to provide humanitarian and other aid to Ukraine. However, Fico also said there is no reason for him to travel to Kyiv but that he would speak with the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, about Ukraine's needs in the upcoming winter.  

Robert Fico's SMER party won the parliamentary elections on Sept. 30 on a populist platform that promised to immediately end all military aid to Ukraine.

By Oct. 11, the party had formed a coalition government with the left-wing Hlas party and the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party.

Earlier this week, Fico's new government announced that they rejected delivering the 40.3-million-euro ($43.2 million) military aid package for Ukraine proposed by its predecessor.

Under its previous government, Slovakia provided Ukraine with extensive humanitarian and military assistance, including artillery, fighter jets, and other support.

News Feed
Video

In May 2026, Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps launched a secret counteroffensive now known as Operation Vivaldi, aiming to strengthen Ukraine’s defensive positions in the Lyman and Sviatohirsk sectors and disrupt Russia’s plans to encircle Ukraine’s key strongholds – the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

"Russia is building the military-industrial capacity to continue waging wars even after the war in Ukraine ends. These are not the actions of a country preparing for lasting peace," Oleksandr Danylyuk, chairman of the Center for Defense Reforms and former chief adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, told the Kyiv Independent.

 (Updated:  )

For almost two years, student-led demonstrations in Serbia rallied against Vucic's right-wing incumbent Serbian Progressive Party. Protesting against alleged corruption in the government, the movement was triggered when a train station canopy in the city of Novi Sad collapsed in 2024, killing 16 people.

Show More