Russian President Vladimir Putin used his meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico to advance a campaign aimed at undermining Western unity in support of Ukraine, reports the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Slovakia is dependent on gas passing through its neighbour Ukraine, and it has ramped up efforts to maintain those flows from 2025 while criticising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for refusing to extend the contract expiring at the end of the year.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has said that his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Sunday, 22 December was in response to a statement made by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about halting the transit of Russian gas.