The no-confidence vote, if it succeeds, will trigger a snap election. According to a recent January poll, the liberal opposition Progressive Slovakia is the most popular party in the country on 23.9 percent support, with Fico’s ruling Smer in second on 18 percent.

Thousands of protesters in the Slovak capital held banners and chanted slogans on Friday accusing Prime Minister Robert Fico of dragging the country towards Russia after he met President Vladimir Putin last month amid a gas dispute with Ukraine.

Criticism hasn’t been limited to Fico’s Moscow outreach. He also came under fire from the Slovak press and the opposition recently for spending time in a luxury hotel in Vietnam, where a single night’s stay costs more than €5,000, at a time when Slovak citizens face health-care and cost-of-living crises.

Nearly 89,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, according to a joint investigation by BBC Russia and Mediazona, an increase of 3,965 killed since mid-December. It is thought the actual death toll is much higher as the numbers of deceased Russian troops include only those who could be immediately verified.

Slovakia's opposition parties will call a no-confidence vote against the government, a party chief said on Tuesday, accusing Prime Minister Robert Fico of dragging foreign policy closer to Russia while failing to tackle problems at home.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico plans to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming days, and the parties are working on choosing a suitable date.

Thousands of Slovaks have taken to the streets as protests against the pro-Russia policies of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico spread from Slovakia's capital to towns and cities across the country and abroad.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico looks set to survive an upcoming no-confidence vote after rebel lawmakers in one ruling coalition party said they would not support the motion.

Volodymyr Zelensky jokingly responded to the latest statement by the Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, about a possible meeting at the World Econom

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander ...

A delegation of Slovakia's far-right MPs, led by Deputy Speaker and leader of the nationalist party SNS Andrej Danko, is set to travel to Russia in January to "develop dialogue" following the visit by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy discussed energy security with Slovakia's opposition leader in Kyiv on Friday, amid a row with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico who has threatened to cut aid to Ukraine.