Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová has voiced her opposition to the Defense Ministry’s proposal to provide additional military aid to Ukraine, which is currently facing a Russian invasion. This stance is based on the outcome of Slovakia’s recent parliamentary elections, where parties opposed to supplying aid to Kiev are in negotiations to form a government, having received a mandate from the head of state. According to reports from Denník N, Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council, has expressed concerns, as reported by the Ukrainian news agency Unian, about the significant influence of Russian agents in Slovakia.
The proposed aid package for Ukraine would potentially include ammunition, as reported by Denník N. Slovakia has gradually provided various military hardware and equipment to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February, including the S-300 air defense system and MiG-29 fighter jets. President Čaputová, who appointed Prime Minister Ludovít Ódor’s caretaker government in May, has consistently emphasized Ukraine’s need for assistance and criticized Russia’s military intervention in the neighboring country.
Martin Strižinec, a spokesperson for the Slovak president, stated, “All political parties currently engaged in government formation clearly reject such aid. Providing military equipment under these circumstances would set an unfavorable precedent for political transitions following elections.”
Former Prime Minister Robert Fico’s Smer-Social Democracy (Smer-SD) party, tasked by Čaputová with forming a cabinet after her party’s electoral victory, has long been opposed to supplying arms to Ukraine. The nationalist Slovak National Party, with which Smer-SD is reportedly considering forming a coalition government, shares a similar stance. Another potential coalition partner of Smer-SD, the Voice of Social Democracy (Hlas-SD) party, has argued that Slovakia has already exhausted its capacity to provide military assistance to Ukraine. However, Slovak Defense Minister Martin Sklenár countered this claim, stating that the Slovak military possesses a substantial amount of equipment and weaponry that could be extended to Ukraine.
The Unian news agency highlighted that Ukraine’s opportunity to receive aid from Slovakia now appears limited due to Čaputová’s opposition. Additionally, Secretary Danilov of Ukraine’s Security Council criticized Slovakia for succumbing to Russian influence, emphasizing the need for the European Union to closely monitor such developments.
Source: echo24.cz
