Slovakia to increase electricity supplies to Ukraine during colder months, Slovak president says.

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Slovakia will increase electricity exports to Ukraine to help stabilize supplies during the autumn and winter months, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini told reporters on July 4. In recent months, Russia has intensified its attacks against Ukraine's critical infrastructure in a renewed assault against the country's energy grid. As a result of the attacks on energy infrastructure, Ukraine began implementing rolling blackouts on May 15.

"Since the beginning of the war, we have already exported more than 40,000 megawatts of electricity to Ukraine, and we are going to increase supplies in autumn and winter, which will probably be crucial for Ukraine," Pellegrini said during a visit to Poland on Thursday. Pellegrini, a close ally to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, met with Polish President Andrzej Duda, seeking to reassure the country's support for Ukraine. Pellegrini asserted that Slovakia is doing "a lot of work" to support Ukraine.

Ukraine's largest privately-owned energy provider DTEK has warned that Ukrainians have only have electricity for 6-7 hours per day in the upcoming winter. In a "worst-case" scenario in which Ukraine is unable to repair damaged energy facilities and prevent future attacks, Ukrainians could experience up to 20 hours of blackouts a day, DTEK Executive Director Dmytro Sakharuk told the Kyiv Independent in an interview on June 9. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for his friendly stance towards Russia and firm opposition to providing military aid to Ukraine, has deepened divides between the country and NATO over support for Ukraine.

Pellegrini likely also sought to quell uncertainty over its differing relations with NATO over Ukraine, also adding that Slovakia is ready to host an increased number of NATO troops on their territory, if necessary.

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