Slovakia is first NATO member to provide Ukraine with fighter jets: 10 MiG-29s

This was stated by Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad in an interview with AP.

“We will never use the MiGs anymore. They have no real value for us. If we give them to Ukraine, they can help save their lives,” Nad said.

According to Nad, the last, 11th Soviet fighter jet is planned to be transferred to a Slovak museum.

The final decision to provide Ukraine with MiG-29s is expected to be made within days or weeks, AP reports. In this case, Slovakia will become the first NATO member to provide combat aircraft to Kyiv.

At the Brussels summit in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally addressed acting Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger with a request to supply MiG-29 fighters. The latter promised to do everything possible to fulfill this request.

However, there is also an opposition in Slovakia on this issue, which opposes military support for Ukraine and EU sanctions against Russia. Its representatives emphasize that the Slovak government has no mandate to supply fighter jets to Ukraine.

The government is awaiting legal advice on the matter. But Nad has already told the AP that the MiG deal would be "truly a win-win for all parties involved."

"From that point of view, I really can't imagine anybody reasonably thinking that they would not want to help Ukraine, (saving) human lives, by increasing our defense," he added.

According to official data, since February 2022, Slovakia has provided Ukraine with weapons worth almost 168 million euros. These include S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems, helicopters, thousands of missiles for Grad multiple rocket launchers, and dozens of armored vehicles. In exchange, Slovakia received Patriot air defense batteries, temporarily deployed with American, German, and Dutch troops, as well as German Leopard tanks and Mantis air defense systems.

Bratislava also signed an agreement to purchase 14 American F-16 Block 70/72 fighters, but the start of their delivery was postponed for two years to early 2024.

• On February 16, the Ukrainian parliament recognized Russia as a country that supports terrorism and its regime as a terrorist one.

• On February 21, Slovak Foreign Minister Rastislav Kacer swore at Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his policy of playing into Putin's hands - and the Slovak president got the same treatment.