Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Tuesday that “there’s no war in Kyiv,” describing life in Ukraine’s capital as “absolutely normal.”
“Do you really think there is war in Kyiv? I hope you’re not serious … life there is absolutely normal,” Fico told a press conference when asked why he’s not meeting Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Ukraine’s largest city, where he might better grasp the impact of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing war.
Fico and Shmyhal are instead set to meet Wednesday in the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod near the Slovak border. Fico said the choice of city was a practical one and had been proposed by the Ukrainian side.
The Slovak leader’s controversial remarks about safety in Ukraine’s capital came the same day Russia attacked the country with 41 missiles, leaving several people dead in Kyiv and Kharkiv, dozens injured, and infrastructure in ruins.
Ukrainian officials were furious with Fico, who has repeatedly drawn Kyiv’s ire — including when he vowed during last year’s general election campaign in Slovakia “not to send another bullet to Ukraine.”
“Let me tell you about a day in Kyiv,” senior Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko responded. “Today everyone woke up at 5:43 a.m. because the air raid alarm started. And then an hour later there were already the first explosions … How did the day start in Bratislava? Probably not with the sound of Russian missiles.
“Yet.”
It’s not the first time even this month that Fico has sparked outrage with his comments about the war. Over the weekend he suggested that Ukraine cede territory to Russia to stop its aggression, and reiterated his opposition to Ukraine’s desire to join the NATO military alliance. He also cast doubt on Ukraine’s sovereignty, saying the country is “under the total influence and control of the United States.”
Ukraine dismissed Fico’s proposal that it give up territory to Moscow. “No security in Ukraine means no security in Slovakia or Europe as a whole,” said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko.
