In a move signaling a clear departure in foreign policy after the recent elections, the new Slovak government did not approve the delivery of a military aid package to Ukraine that had been prepared by the outgoing Odor cabinet, the Slovak public news agency TASR reported.
The shipment was worth €40.3 million and would have included 4 million rounds of 7.62-millimeter machine guns, more than 5,000 rounds of 125-millimeter artillery ammunition, and 140 rockets for use in Kub air defense systems, as well as mortars and their ammunition.
Slovakia previously approved and delivered 13 military aid packages to Ukraine under the previous government to the value of €671 million, according to official figures.
Newly-elected Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has repeatedly reaffirmed his pledge, made before the September parliamentary elections, to completely stop arms deliveries to Ukraine and to limit future aid to humanitarian supplies to Kyiv.
During a recent visit to Bratislava by Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szjjártó, Fico vowed to halt all Slovak arms supplies to Kyiv — a move enacted within his first few days back in office. The new PM holds a view on the conflict more aligned with pro-peace advocates such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
