Slovakia will provide further military aid to Ukraine, this time military material worth EUR 4.5 million. This was confirmed by Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď after yesterday's meeting of the Slovak Government.

The minister said that the goods are air defence systems and anti-tank missiles. "It is exactly the type of ammunition that the Ukrainian side requested and which we could provide from the warehouses of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic," said Naď. Slovakia thus provided additional assistance on the basis of communication between the Slovak prime minister and the Ukrainian president and subsequently between the Ukrainian ambassador to Slovakia and the defence ministry.

Picture: Slovakia will provide Ukraine with military material worth almost 4.5 million euros (illustration photo) | Shutterstock

"It is valid that if we can help again, we will make a responsible decision as a friendly country should behave to help the aggressors of an invaded country. Today, this is a struggle of Ukrainians not only for their country but for the future of the whole Europe," Naď stressed.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Eduard Heger again praised the coordinated action of the European Union. Unity and cohesion is very high. I want to repeat - we want peace. This is the most important thing," he stressed.

However, the military aid to Ukraine described above is not the first aid to our neighbours. Slovakia has already sent material aid to Ukraine worth almost 11 million euros. This includes ammunition (12,000 pieces of 120mm ammunition), aviation gasoline (2.4 million litres) and diesel (10 million litres), based on Ukraine's request.

The Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic also deployed 580 soldiers to assist the Slovak Police Force, Customs and Financial Administration in four sectors of the Slovak eastern border, where they perform tasks according to the needs of the Slovak Police Force, based on a government resolution. Five tactical civil-military cooperation teams have also been deployed to create a "communication bridge" between military and civilian forces

Picture: The Slovak Armed Forces have also deployed 580 soldiers to assist the Slovak Police Force, customs and financial administration in four sectors of Slovakia's eastern border, performing tasks according to the needs of the Slovak Police Force, based on a government resolution. (illustration photo) | Shutterstock

The Government of the Slovak Republic has decided that a state of emergency is in force in Slovakia as of Saturday 26 February 2022 12:00 p.m. due to the mass influx of foreigners as a result of the armed conflict in Ukraine. War refugees from Ukraine will be allowed to obtain temporary refuge status directly at the Slovak border, with full health insurance and entitlement to material hardship benefits, as well as the possibility of employment in Slovakia.

Slovak Defence Minister Naď also recently drew attention to the lies about the alleged mobilisation and warned against further attempts to spread fear in the wake of the situation in Ukraine. The Slovak Republic is currently working on the establishment of a so-called enhanced NATO forward presence on Slovak territory.

The current situation in Ukraine resulting from the analysis of the Slovak Armed Forces:

• In its analysis of the situation in Ukraine, the Slovak Armed Forces announced that fighting in Ukraine will intensify in the coming days, resulting in more extensive civilian casualties.
• Russian troops continued to be held up near the towns of Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkov, but the enemy made almost no territorial gains there and, on the contrary, suffered greater losses, particularly in terms of manpower, dead and wounded, and destroyed armoured and security equipment. The greatest gains were made by the Russian armed forces in the south of Ukraine in the direction from Kherson to Mykolaiv and from Melitopol to Mariupol.
• Several hundred Russian soldiers were killed in the intense fighting. Ukrainian officials have asked the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to mediate the transfer of the bodies of the killed Russian soldiers to their families in their homeland, the Russian Federation.
• Several explosions of ballistic and cruise missiles, whose primary targets were military targets or critical infrastructure, have been recorded in many cities in Ukraine over the past days and nights. Several civilian targets such as apartment buildings, private homes, medical facilities, orphanages and school facilities were also hit.