Slovak Prime Minister makes surprise visit to Russia and meets with Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, one of the few European leaders to maintain friendly relations with the Russian leader after the war in Ukraine.

Footage of the meeting showed the two leaders smiling and shaking hands hours after Putin warned Ukraine of harsh retaliation for a drone attack on the city of Kazan, 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Fico’s visit, which is part of NATO and the European Union, was not announced in advance.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in response to a question, said that this unannounced visit was scheduled a few days ago.

Peskov didn’t want to specify the topics on the meeting’s agenda, but said it was presumable that the issue of Russian gas transit would be discussed.

Ukraine announced last summer that it wouldn’t renew a contract with Moscow that expires in late 2024 to transport Russian gas to Europe via its vast network of pipelines.

In recent weeks, Slovakia and Hungary, which rely heavily on Russian gas, have denounced the implications of the move, which would see them cut off completely by the end of the year, with no immediate, reliable alternative solutions.

Fico suspended military aid to Ukraine when he took office in October 2023, and, like his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, he calls for peace talks with Ukraine.

Fico announced in November that he would travel to Moscow in May to attend celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.

Putin had vowed on Sunday to inflict more destruction on Ukraine after a drone attack on a residential tower in the city of Kazan.

Video footage circulating on social media showed at least one drone crashing into a high-rise building and sending fireballs into the sky, though no injuries were reported, while Ukraine hasn’t commented on the strike.

On the other hand the Russian president Vladimir Putin said in a televised speech, “Whoever and whatever they try to destroy, they will face double destruction, and they will regret what they are trying to do in our country”.

The strike on Kazan is the latest in a series of escalating air attacks in the war between Russia and Ukraine, which is approaching its third year.

Putin has previously threatened to target the Ukrainian capital with hypersonic missiles in response to attacks targeting his country.

The Russian Defense Ministry described its strikes against energy facilities in Ukraine in recent weeks as a response to Ukrainian attacks with Western missiles and weapons on Russian territory.

Putin’s threats come as Russia announced its control over two new villages in eastern Ukraine, where it has been making gradual advances for months.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported via Telegram that its forces had liberated the villages of Lozova in the northeastern Kharkiv region and Krasnoye, near the city of Kurakhovye in the Donetsk region.

Krasnoye is located close to Kurakhovye, which is surrounded by Russian forces, which could be a major step in their attempt to seize the entire Donetsk region.

Russia has accelerated its advance in eastern Ukraine in recent months, seeking to control as much territory as possible before US President-elect Donald Trump officially takes office on January 20.

Republican Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine quickly, without offering clear plans for doing so.

For its part, Kiev fears a decline in US military aid after Trump takes office.

Moscow has announced that its forces have taken control of more than 190 Ukrainian population centers this year, as Kiev struggles to maintain its lines of deployment despite a shortage of personnel and equipment.

Kyiv accused Russia on Sunday of committing a war crime, alleging that Russian forces killed captured Ukrainian soldiers.

A video released by Ukraine’s 110th Mechanized Brigade showed shooting of soldiers after they surrendered, Kyiv’s human rights official Dmitry Lubinets said in a post on Telegram.

He said the video, taken by a drone during a confrontation between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, showed the Russians shooting at Ukrainians at close range after they surrendered.

This accusation is the latest in a series of similar accusations made by Ukraine amid the ongoing war since early 2022.