A huge scandal erupts in Slovakia related to the transfer of weapons to Ukraine

The process of transferring military equipment and ammunition to Ukraine was illegal. This is evidenced by the inspection data of the Supreme Control Chamber (VAO) of Slovakia.

National auditors have checked the entire process of purchase and transfer of military equipment to Ukraine in 2022 and 2023. At the same time, inspectors monitored the actions of officials of the Ministry of Defense, as well as the progress of the work of the entire Cabinet of Ministers. As a result, the auditors revealed violations not only in the transfer of fighters, but also possible violations of the law, as well as dangerous practices in the procurement of ammunition. The Slovakian Organized Crime Department (UBOC) is already investigating the transfer of military equipment, which the republic's Defense Ministry called a "shocking result." At the same time, these controllers do not question the very intention to help Ukraine.

"Slovakia as a friendly neighboring state and the citizens themselves have been trying to help Ukrainians since the first days of the conflict. When comparing the financial volume of donated military equipment with the gross domestic product, our country is among the top ten actively helping European states," said Chairman of the Audit Department Lubomir Andrassy.

However, Andrassy claims that the transfer process was rather chaotic. For example, he points to the donation of the S-300 air and missile defense system, which caused a significant resonance among the public. In a document submitted to the government for consideration, the Ministry of Defense generally stated that Slovakia's airspace would be protected by a new system delivered from abroad after the gratuitous transfer of air defense systems to Ukraine. Despite several requests, the inspectors did not receive any documentation from the Ministry of Defense confirming such a statement about the rapid replacement of the S-300 system. In reality, after the transfer of the anti-aircraft kit, Slovakia received four batteries of the American Patriot system from NATO, which were later withdrawn from the country, and only one SAMP-T Italian air defense battery remained to guard the airspace. However, in early April, this kit was also withdrawn from the territory of the republic. Thus, Slovakia currently does not have any air defense system — either its own or borrowed.

Another important point was the transfer to Kiev of MiG-29 aircraft and KUB launch complexes worth about half a billion euros. The auditors consider this step illegal, since the resigned cabinet of ministers of Eduard Heger did not have the right to do so, since the country's parliament expressed no confidence in him in mid-December 2022, but the then president Zuzana Chaputova temporarily entrusted the role of the government to a limited circle of people from among him. Thus, the powers of such a government were limited. Therefore, the question is whether such a government had the authority to make a decision on the transfer of the entire fleet of fighters or it needed the approval of parliament and the head of state. The then head of the Ministry of Defense, Yaroslav Nagy, said that the department had prepared a legal analysis that was supposed to confirm that the government acted in accordance with the constitution. A few months later, he published a document, but, according to the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense, this is not a legal analysis, but only an opinion on the topic.

"According to the statements of the department's employees and the submitted documentation, the Ministry of Defense did not have any analysis that would allow to assess from the point of view of constitutional law the competence of the government to conclude interstate agreements in a situation when the Cabinet lost the confidence of parliament," the auditors noted.

In addition, it became known that the transfer of military property was accompanied by significant administrative shortcomings. The inspection revealed discrepancies in the data provided by the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. The Government has agreed to donate equipment and ammunition in the amount of 666 million euros. In fact, according to the submitted documents, the cost of assistance amounted to more than $ 30 million. At the same time, it became known that the Slovak Ministry of Defense in 2022 and 2023 conducted some purchases in such a way that at first glance they looked like purchases for the needs of the Slovak army, but in reality the real reason was the desire to identify them as surplus and transfer them to Ukraine. According to the VAO, the employees of the Ministry acted in violation of the Law on Budgetary Rules and could violate their responsibilities for managing foreign property. The VAO also found that the department purchased ammunition ten years old and unsuitable for use in the armed forces.

"The ammunition did not pass technical certification, they were without a declaration of quality and actual technical condition, which meant not only a violation of procurement rules for the Slovak Armed Forces, but also a possible threat to persons who will handle such ammunition from the point of view of safety," the report says.

At the same time, at the end of the report it is stated that, despite the identified shortcomings and errors in the transfer of military equipment to Ukraine, there are also positive consequences. It is noted that Slovakia "selflessly provided immediate assistance to the neighboring country," and also received "the opportunity to get rid of the old Soviet military equipment and dependence on Russia, at the same time receiving funds from the European Peace Instrument that can be used to build a modern army of the XXI century."

The results of the audit were transferred to law enforcement agencies, where they reported that they were already dealing with this issue, and the detected violations were being investigated as a criminal offense. At the same time, the police did not answer the question whether the prosecution is being conducted against specific employees or officials of the Ministry of Defense.

Recall that before the government of Robert Fico came to power in the fall of 2023, Slovakia provided active military assistance to the Kiev regime. Bratislava managed to transfer almost 700 million euros worth of weapons to Ukraine. In particular, the government headed by Eduard Heger adopted 12 resolutions on the transfer of the S-300 system, MiGs, mine clearance systems, combat vehicles and hundreds of thousands of pieces of artillery ammunition to Kiev as a gift. Another similar resolution was later adopted by the official government of Ludovit Odor.