The no-confidence vote, if it succeeds, will trigger a snap election. According to a recent January poll, the liberal opposition Progressive Slovakia is the most popular party in the country on 23.9 percent support, with Fico’s ruling Smer in second on 18 percent.

Ukraine’s leader made a personal jab at Robert Fico after the Slovakian PM threatened to cut off Kyiv from electricity exports.

Thousands of protesters in the Slovak capital held banners and chanted slogans on Friday accusing Prime Minister Robert Fico of dragging the country towards Russia after he met President Vladimir Putin last month amid a gas dispute with Ukraine.

Thousands of Slovaks have taken to the streets as protests against the pro-Russia policies of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico spread from Slovakia's capital to towns and cities across the country and abroad.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declares that discussions on normalizing relations with the Russian Federation are unacceptable, commenting on the statements of Slovak politicians, and stressed the need to condemn aggression.

Nearly 89,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, according to a joint investigation by BBC Russia and Mediazona, an increase of 3,965 killed since mid-December. It is thought the actual death toll is much higher as the numbers of deceased Russian troops include only those who could be immediately verified.

Russia has long used its plentiful energy resources as a tool to exert control over the region, where independence from Russian energy is tied to political sovereignty.

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander ...

A delegation of Slovakia's far-right MPs, led by Deputy Speaker and leader of the nationalist party SNS Andrej Danko, is set to travel to Russia in January to "develop dialogue" following the visit by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Slovakia that Russia's Gazprom would find alternative ways to deliver contracted gas to Slovakia after the end of transit through Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday (Jan 10).

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has declined President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's invitation to visit Kyiv for discussions on gas transit. Source: TASS, a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet, citing Slovak Parliament Deputy Speaker Tibor Gašpar,