In response, the Ukrainian president invited the Slovak prime minister to Kyiv.Following Zelensky's invitation, Tibor Gaspar, deputy speaker of the Slovak Parliament, said that Fico would not be visiting the Ukrainian capital.Ukraine did not renew a pre-war agreement to transit Russian gas to Europe via Ukrainian territory, instead allowing the deal to expire on Jan. 1. Kyiv warned repeatedly that it would not extend the deal in order to stop financing Russia's full-scale war.Fico and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban have been among some of the most vocal opponents of Ukraine's decision to stop Russian gas transit.Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Orban and Fico have continued to maintain friendly ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting with him, and promoting pro-Russian narratives in Europe.Fico previously threatened to cut off electricity supplies to Ukraine amid increasing blackouts due to Russian attacks targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure.While the EU has made efforts to reduce dependency on Russian fossil fuels following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many countries, including Slovakia and Hungary, remain reliant on Russian gas.As Russia cuts Transnistria from gas, stranded locals search for someone to blameVARNIȚA, Moldova — The buzzing sound of chainsaws and generators is now common in Varnița, a village of 5,000 that borders Moldova’s Russian-controlled region of Transnistria.