The United Nations Refugee Agency said there were just over 130,000 Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia as of December 8.

Despite EU efforts to reduce dependence on Russian fossil fuels, Slovakia remains reliant on Russian gas under a long-term contract with Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom. Switching to alternative supply routes could cost Slovakia an additional €220 million ($229 million) in transit fees.

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico has threatened to cut financial support for more than 130,000 Ukrainian refugees as a dispute with Ukraine over Russian gas supplies escalates. On 1 January, Kyiv shut off a pipeline that for decades was used to supply Central Europe with Russian natural gas.