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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Oct. 16 his country would not take part in a 70-billion-euro ($79 billion) support package requested by President Volodymyr Zelensky at an EU leaders' summit in Brussels.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar took a similar stance, Fico said, according to the Slovak news agency TASR.
Zelensky asked EU leaders on Oct. 16 for an additional 70 billion euros to help cover Ukraine's defense and "resilience" needs in 2027, as Kyiv grapples with a budget shortfall amid escalating Russian attacks.
The request came only six months after the European bloc approved a 90 billion euro ($101 billion) loan to help Ukraine until the end of 2027. But while this loan is being disbursed, Kyiv still faces a shortfall, as non-EU partners — apart from Norway — have failed to help bridge the gap.
Like Slovakia and Hungary, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis also signaled that his country would not join an additional financing package for Ukraine.
The three countries opted not to join the 90-billion-euro package as well, though they did not block its approval.
Fico said Bratislava would continue to help Kyiv through other means, citing educational projects, logistics, and energy cooperation as examples.
The Slovak and Czech leaders have stepped back from their countries' direct military assistance after taking office, while Hungary has not supplied weapons to Ukraine throughout the full-scale war.
Kyiv's EU partners have acknowledged the need to cover Ukraine's shortfall for next year, though no consensus has been reached on the 70 billion euros yet. French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine's allies would analyze the request.
"We will indeed be looking at the funding. The funding that will be provided by the G7 countries, by our partners and, of course, by the Europeans," Macron said.