Giving Slovak jets, air defense to Kyiv was sabotage, new government says
PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative photo — A Ukrainian MiG-29 Fulcrum takes off from Starokostiantyniv Air Base, Ukraine, Oct. 9, 2018. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Charles Vaughn via U.S. Defense Visual Information Distribution Service)
(Reuters) - The Slovak government has asked police to investigate the former cabinet and defence minister Jaroslav Nad for donating fighter jets and an air defence system to Ukraine to help it defend against Russia's invasion, a government official said on Friday.
The new government under the leadership of Robert Fico made a sharp policy turn after it took power in October 2023 and halted any military supplies to Ukraine, although it has allowed commercial supplies to continue.
The previous Slovak government last year donated a dozen Russian-made MiG-29 fighters that Slovakia had grounded and most of which were not operational, as well as the KUB air defence system.
Donating the air defence system exposed Slovak airspace and endangered citizens, said Ìgor Melicher, state secretary at the Defence Ministry and a member of the ruling Smer-SD party.
"I am convinced that Nad betrayed Slovakia," Melicher told a briefing shown live on Facebook.
"The defence ministry is filing a criminal complaint for the suspicion of committing the crime of sabotage, or treason, abuse of power and failing fiduciary duties."
Nad has rejected any wrongdoing and said he would make the same decision again. There was no immediate fresh comment from Nad on Friday.
One of the arguments Melicher used is that the government had ruled whilst in a caretaker capacity and thus had limited authority to make foreign policy decisions.
The allegations are a symptom of the highly polarised Slovak political scene, where Fico has repeatedly accused his predecessors of pursuing criminal prosecutions against his party when he was in opposition.
His cabinet has scrapped a special prosecution unit that had gone after corruption, replaced key police personnel, and taken steps to replace management of public media.
The country is due to receive F-16 fighters ordered earlier to replace the MiGs.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka in Prague; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
