Poland is ready for a drastic move: "Ukraine must not..."

The Polish government is ready to increase domestic electricity production to compensate for any shortfall in Ukraine's overstretched energy system, should Slovakia make such a decision, the official said, according to Bloomberg.

Warsaw's assurances came amid a growing dispute over the future transit of gas through Ukraine. Fico made his threat two days ago, and almost three years since the beginning of the Russian attack on Ukraine, Bratislava still relies on cheap gas from Russia's Gazprom, thus undermining the EU's efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy sources, according to the agency.

As it is added, the clock is ticking as December 31 approaches, when the current arrangement for the delivery of gas through Ukraine to Europe expires.

Although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that from January he would not allow the transit of gas that benefits the Kremlin's war machine, he signaled that he would be ready to transport fuel from other countries if the European Commission requests it, according to Bloomberg.

Despite the EU's aim to end Russia's dependence on fossil fuels by 2027, gas is not part of the sanctions imposed on Moscow by the Union since the start of the war in Ukraine, meaning companies are still allowed to enter into contracts and continue importing gas if those agreements are in accordance with EU regulations.

In February, the European Commission should announce a strategy aimed at ending the import of energy products from Russia.

Slovakia continues to receive Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline that runs through Ukraine, and Kyiv could suspend those supplies as a possible countermeasure if Slovakia halts electricity exports to Ukraine, another source familiar with the situation said, according to Bloomberg.