On Wednesday, the Slovak government declared a state of oil emergency following the earlier interruption of oil supplies through Ukraine. This emergency measure, set to take effect on Thursday, includes the government’s decision to lend up to 250,000 tons of crude oil from its emergency reserves to the Slovnaft refinery in Bratislava. This action is intended to aid the refinery in managing operations until alternative sources of oil can be secured.

The interruption of Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline to Slovakia and Hungary has been ongoing since January, attributed to Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Prime Minister Robert Fico faced the press, accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of blocking the resumption of oil transport for political reasons, despite Fico's claims that the damaged sections of the Druzhba pipeline on Ukrainian territory have already been repaired.

Fico also warned Ukraine that it could potentially lose Slovakia's support for its ambitions to join the European Union. According to government reports, the volume of oil being provided would enable Slovnaft to operate in a minimum capacity for at least one month, highlighting the urgency of Slovakia's situation in the midst of ongoing geopolitical tensions surrounding energy supplies in the region.