The Slovak Ministry of Defense is appealing the decision of the Bratislava District Prosecutor’s Office, which terminated the proceedings against the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets and the S-300 air defense system to Ukraine. The government coalition says the prosecutor’s office is wrong in maintaining that the donation to Ukraine was legal and justified.
The Slovak Defense Ministry’s State Secretary announced that they will initiate a review of the prosecutor’s decision, reports InfoStart. According to Igor Melicher, the reasoning is contradictory and carries a dangerous message that anything can be done with political connections without consequences.
The government led by Robert Fico claims that some of the weapons delivered to Ukraine in 2023 during the Heger government were still in service or at least could have been sold. According to Defense Minister Robert Kalinák and Deputy Speaker of Parliament Tibor Gaspar, even the inoperable MiG fighters represented significant monetary value. Tibor Gaspar argued that other countries still use this type today, so the state should have tried to sell it.
The prosecution, on the other hand, speaks of a catastrophic technical condition. According to prosecutor Rastislav Remeta, the S-300 air defense system had not been modernized in accordance with NATO standards since 1989, which had only 48 missiles and a warranty which expired in 2016. Three of the MiG-29s had no engines, and the rest required constant maintenance, which could only be performed by Russian specialists. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, this was no longer conceivable for security reasons.
Rastislav Remeta emphasized that the planes have been flying without weapons since 2019 because the missiles’ service life has expired, and from 2021, Slovakia could only field one plane for NATO air defense. “Slovakia did not use the transferred assets, but their maintenance cost tens of millions of euros annually,” he said.
Slovakia, however, did not hand over the military equipment for free. Ukraine did not pay for it directly, but the European Union provided more than €211 million in compensation from the European Peace Facility, which is almost half of the original value of the equipment.
The prosecutor’s office also acquitted Jaroslav Nad, the defense minister in the Heger government, who said the previous cabinet acted legally, economically and correctly in helping Ukraine. Jaroslav Nad rejected the charge of treason and spoke of a political attack.
Prime Minister Robert Fico has sharply criticized the prosecutor’s office, accusing the judiciary of having taken on a political role and claiming that the transferred weapons had weakened Slovakia’s defense capabilities.
Interior Minister Matús Sutaj Estok also joined the debate, saying: it is not normal that the previous government transferred key military equipment without compensation, and that Slovakia now needs the help of other countries – including Hungary and Poland – in air defense. According to the Slovak opposition, all competent bodies have confirmed that the donation was legal.
