Slovakia: Government stops military aid to Ukraine

The new Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, has announced a halt to his country’s military aid to Ukraine – and does not want to support further arms deliveries or further sanctions against Russia at his first EU summit. This is reported by the news agencies AFP and . “We consider the aid to Ukraine exclusively as humanitarian and civil aid, we will no longer supply weapons to Ukraine,” Fico told members of the newly elected parliament in Bratislava on Thursday.

The left-wing populist Fico had previously announced the end of military aid for Ukraine during the election campaign. His coalition government with an ultra-right party and a left-wing party was sworn in on Wednesday.

Slovakia: Fico government stops arms deliveries to Ukraine

Fico’s Smer-SD party emerged as the strongest force in the parliamentary elections at the end of September. The left-wing populist, who has been head of government twice in the past, subsequently formed a three-way alliance with the ultra-right Slovak National Party (SNS) and the left-wing Hlas-SD.

Observers assume that EU and NATO member Slovakia, previously one of Ukraine’s big supporters in the war against Russia, will make a U-turn in foreign policy under Fico’s leadership and move closer to Hungary’s position.

Fico declared during the election campaign that under his leadership Slovakia would not deliver “one shot of ammunition” to Ukraine. At the same time, he called for better relations with Russia. After his election victory, Fico said Slovakia had “bigger problems” than Ukraine and called for peace talks.

In response to the Slovakian decision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would not have a major impact on the conflict because the share of Slovakia’s arms deliveries to Ukraine was “rather small.”