Jaroslav Na, the vice-chairman of the Democrats and the Minister of Defense of Slovakia indicated in an interview with the local media outlet ‘Dennikn’ that it is possible that the Russian technicians who repaired the MiG-29 fighters belonging to the Slovak Air Force up until very recently purposefully damaged the aircraft.
The police failed to establish suspicions of sabotage allegedly committed by Russian technicians on Slovakian MiGs, but the military lost faith in the Russians at Sliač, according to Defense Minister Jaroslav Na.
Even though they could fly, they were not combat-ready. According to Nagy, the Ukrainians came to Slovakia one week before their departure to inspect the aircraft and bring spare parts with them.
A former high-ranking Slovak pilot, Lieutenant General Lubomyr Svoboda distrusts Russian specialists. During a conversation with journalists, he implied that the Russians intentionally damaged the aircraft. The Slovaks received a 350-hour-capable motor from their Russian counterparts. In the end, the engine only operated for 70 hours.
“What can we do about it? Maybe it was shoddy work, let’s call it that. I don’t know,” he said in an interview for Denníkn.
The decision to send over to Ukraine the MiG-29 fighter jets that the Slovak armed services have not utilised since August of 2022 was made by the Slovak government not too long ago.
In March, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Eduard Heger, announced that his country would be transferring MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Ukraine. According to statements made by the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Ukraine will get thirteen fighters. In the past, it has been reported that Slovakia only had eleven of these fighters. Bratislava is interested in exchanging these MiG-29s for American F-16s.
At the time of the announcement, the head of the Slovak General Staff, Daniel Zmek, stated that the nation had experienced shortages of MiG-29 spare parts and pilots in recent years. Therefore, it has been discussed on multiple occasions that something needs to be done with the aircraft. Yaroslav Nagy said at that time that Ukraine has both spare components and pilots capable of flying such aircraft.
