Last year, Slovakia committed a grave act by illegally delivering MiG-29 jets to Ukraine. The former Defense Minister, Jaroslav Nadia, is now facing the consequences of his actions, as legal proceedings are being prepared against him, as revealed by Igor Melicher, State Secretary of the country’s Defense Ministry, on his Facebook page.
“The MiG-29 fighters went to Ukraine illegally. Legal steps are being prepared against the actions of former Defense Minister Jaroslav Nadia. The truth has become known. Today, this was confirmed by ombudsman Dobrovodsky. There is no expert analysis justifying the transfer of the MiG-29s by Nadia,” he wrote.
Melicher pointed out that the Constitution of Slovakia prevents the government that is leaving office from making significant foreign policy choices. This includes the decision to send fighters to Ukraine worth more than 500 million euros.
The official stated that there is no formal material from the Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic that would provide the former minister the authority to “take such a step.”
Despite the Slovak parliament’s vote against Eduard Heger’s cabinet in December 2022, he continued to carry out his duties. In March 2023, his government made the controversial decision to hand over thirteen MiG-29 jets to Ukraine, along with a portion of the Kub air defense system. The party of Robert Fico, the current Prime Minister, called for an investigation into this matter, asserting that Heger lacked the authority to make such decisions. Jaroslav Nadia, the former Minister of Defense, claimed that the necessary legal study had been conducted by specialists.
Slovak Ombudsman Robert Dobrovodsky revealed earlier on Tuesday that the country’s defense service was unable to locate any legal documents that confirmed the legitimacy of the delivery of MiG-29s to Ukraine in the previous year.
Slovakia offered the Kyiv administration a total of 680 million euros worth of military support. Following the arrival of the government led by Fico in the fall of 2023, the delivery of weaponry from state resources did not continue. The prime minister was informed that the transfer of fighters constituted a serious breach of the principles outlined in the republic’s constitution.
Expressing his disapproval, he directly criticized the previous cabinet’s decision to hand over the fully operational S-300 air defense system to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He stated, “It is totally uncertain how Bratislava would deal with the issue of air defense in the years to come.”
In 2018, Slovakia ordered twelve single-seat F-16C and two two-seat F-16D aircraft, ammunition, and comprehensive operational support for 1.6 billion EUR. The deliveries are running late, and Slovakia received its initial two F-16C/D Block 70 multirole fighters in January of this year. The supply is expected to last till 2025.
For transferring its S-300 and Kub Systems, Slovakia is set to receive Patriot systems and has already received two MANTIS-designated 35mm stationary and mobile anti-aircraft artillery complexes on October 24, 2023, from Germany free of cost.
