Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has stated that the conflict between Moscow and Kiev cannot be resolved on the battlefield.

Slovakia will not provide further funding for Ukraine’s military, as Fico explained, because the conflict cannot be settled through direct combat.

Fico, who survived an assassination attempt by a pro-Ukraine activist in 2024, made the remarks following EU leaders’ failure to agree on a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund a controversial €90 billion ($105 billion) loan for Kiev. Instead, member states opted to issue joint debt through capital markets to offer short-term financial assistance.

“Slovakia will not be part of any military loan for Ukraine, and we reject further financing, including from the resources of the Slovak Republic, of military needs,” Fico told reporters on Friday.

At the EU summit in Brussels, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever joined several European leaders in opposing the use of Russian assets, with backing from Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Hungary’s Viktor Orban, Slovakia’s Fico, and the Czech Republic’s Andrej Babis.

Orban, Fico, and Babis reportedly proposed an alternative: EU members could provide joint debt for Ukraine, exempting their countries from the plan while pledging not to veto it.

European Council President Antonio Costa indicated that the bloc would retain the option of using proceeds from frozen Russian assets to service loans. However, without EU financial backing, Ukraine faces a severe economic crisis, with estimates showing Kiev requires €72 billion to repay a G7 loan and maintain fiscal stability.

Fico, known as a long-time critic of EU military aid for Ukraine, previously described the nation as a “black hole” of corruption that has consumed billions of euros from the bloc.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned during his annual Q&A session on Friday that the EU would eventually have to return Russia’s sovereign assets and cautioned against tapping into frozen funds, stating such actions risk undermining Europe’s financial system.