Slovakia will continue military support for Ukraine during the term of office of Prime Minister Fico

Despite concerns, Slovakia will continue military support for Ukraine during Prime Minister Robert Fico's term in office. Ambassador of Ukraine, Myroslav Kastran, mentioned this in an interview with Glavkom, referring to the statements of the head of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Juraj Blanar.

"To sum up, all our concerns about a complete cessation of military aid were unfounded. There were justified fears that Slovakia would stop the transit of any military equipment to Ukraine through its territory. It was feared that the process of issuing export certificates and permits for dual-use goods would be suspended"
he said.

According to the diplomat, Ukraine is concerned about the fate of cooperation between Slovak and Ukrainian defense and military enterprises. There were concerns that the repair station for German military equipment supplied to Ukraine might cease to function.

"They thought that the repair center for German military equipment supplied to Ukraine might stop working. The repair hub started operating last year in eastern Slovakia. Fortunately, all this has not changed at all. Mr. Blanar confirmed everything clearly and told me at the meeting. Not only that, he said that the issuance of export licenses would be expedited as much as possible”
Castran said.

In November 2023, the new Slovak government blocked the 14th military aid package for Ukraine worth over EUR 40 million, prepared by the previous management of the country's Ministry of Defense.

In October, the new Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, stated that he would not support military aid for Ukraine and would not vote for any sanctions against Russia.

What is known about Fico and how he became Prime Minister of Slovakia

The leader of the Smer-SD party, Robert Fico, won the early parliamentary elections in Slovakia. On October 25, he was approved as the country's new prime minister. He is known for his pro-Russian stance and opposes aid to Ukraine.

The Smer party won just over 23% of the votes. Second place was taken by the pro-European party "Progressive Slovakia" led by Michael Shimecko, winning 17%. Peter Pellegrini's "Holos" party took third place - 15%.

Smer-SD and “Progressive Slovakia” did not obtain an absolute majority, so they will be forced to look for coalition partners.

Fico has already promised to stop deliveries of military equipment to Ukraine and is seeking peace talks. He also criticized sanctions against Russia, opposed LGBTQ+ rights, and defended the national veto in the EU. This rhetoric is close to Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán.