Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his evening address on Monday, 23 December, has once again criticised Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who on 22 December held talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin regarding gas supplies.

Prime Minister Robert Fico’s surprise visit to Moscow on Sunday, reportedly to discuss natural gas and Ukraine, was a blow to European unity against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has made a surprise visit to Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin - becoming only the third Western leader to meet the Russian president since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

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Fico’s views on Russia’s war on Ukraine differ sharply from most other European leaders. Slovakia's prime minister returned to power last year after his leftist party won parliamentary elections on a pro-Russia and anti-American platform.

A protest took place in front of the Slovak government building in Bratislava on Monday in response to Prime Minister Robert Fico's trip to Moscow, where he met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Source: Slovak publication Aktuality,