Slovak members of parliament have reported that Poland refused them passage while en route to Moscow:

A delegation, headed by Slovak parliamentary vice-presidents Andrej Danko (SNS) and Tibor Gašpar (Smer-SD/NI),departed on Sunday for a working visit to Russia at the invitation of the State Duma. The group also comprises three additional MP's from Smer-SD and one from SNS.

 a video statement released prior to his departure, Danko indicated that Polish authorities had denied him permission to fly over their airspace, necessitating a reroute of the aircraft through the Czech Republic and Germany.

As previously stated by both Danko and Gašpar, the Slovak delegation is scheduled to engage with representatives from the State Duma and various government officials.

Gašpar emphasized that the discussions would encompass a variety of topics, including the supply of natural gas to Slovakia and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. He also expressed the delegation's intention to ascertain whether Gazprom, Russia's state-owned gas company, would be able to maintain gas supplies to Slovakia in light of the transit blockade imposed by Ukraine.

A recent visit to Moscow by members of Slovakia's ruling coalition has sparked criticism from both the public and within their own party. Rebel members of the coalition party Hlas-SD (NI) have announced their intention to travel to Ukraine on Tuesday as a means to "offset" the recent trip made by MPs from Smer and SNS,as well as the unexpected visit by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD/NI) in December.

On Friday, the group indicated that they would address Slovakia's role as a partner for Ukraine in the context of EU accession negotiations, alongside discussions on energy security and the reconstruction of Ukraine post-conflict.

Joining the group will be Beáta Jurík from the pro-European opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS/RE).

Four MPs from Hlas-SD, led by Samuel Migaľ, have been dissenting against specific government and coalition initiatives since December. Fico has already cautioned that early elections could be on the horizon if the internal strife within Hlas-SD and the SNS, which has also seen a loss of three MPs, is not resolved.

President Peter Pellegrini has been contemplating a visit to Ukraine since assuming office in April. However, he stated on Saturday that such a visit is "not feasible at this moment" due to the ongoing tensions with Ukraine regarding disrupted gas transit.

Public sentiment in Slovakia has turned against the government's increasing alignment with Moscow. Protests, labeled 'Slovakia is Europe', have entered their third week, with at least 35,000 participants in the latest demonstrations held across various cities in Slovakia.