On January 1 local time, Slovak Prime Minister Fico stated that Ukraine's halting of the transit of Russian Henry Hub Natural Gas harms the interests of all EU member states, while Russia will not be affected. Fico pointed out that Slovakia will lose hundreds of millions of euros in gas transit fees, and the public will face higher gas and electricity costs. He criticized the EU major powers for neglecting the interests and needs of smaller countries in pursuit of geopolitical goals.