Slovakia Releases Emergency Crude Amid Standoff With Kyiv

The Slovnaft oil refinery in Bratislava.

Photographer: Zuzana Gogova/Getty Images

Slovakia approved the release of 250,000 tons of emergency crude oil reserves to supply its sole refinery as Prime Minister Robert Fico blamed Ukraine for delaying deliveries of Russian fuel via a key transit pipeline.

“President Zelenskiy is playing games with our support when it comes to Ukraine’s European prospects,” Fico told journalists in Bratislava after a government meeting on Wednesday.