- Slovakia is the first to donate an air defense system to Ukraine
- Ukraine has appealed to the West to strengthen its defense capabilities
- Slovakia to replace donated US-based Patriot S-300 system
PRAGUE, April 8 – Slovakia has donated its S-300 air defense system to Ukraine, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said on Friday, a day after the United States announced the move and 30 other countries stepped up military aid to Kyiv.
Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to western nations to use air defense weapons and heavy military ground equipment to repel a Russian military attack, now in its second month.
“I can confirm that Slovakia donated the S-300 air defense system to Ukraine in response to their request for help in self-defense in response to the Russian Federation’s armed aggression,” Heger said in an emailed statement.
NATO member Slovakia has operated a battery of the Soviet-designed S-300 air defense system, which it inherited after Czechoslovakia collapsed in 1993.
Heger, who visited Kyiv on Friday, also said that Slovakia’s own defense was secure.
Slovakia’s donation is the first known case of a country sending an air defense system to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24.
In March, NATO allies Germany and the Netherlands brought three batteries of the Patriot air defense system to Slovakia, which Bratislava said at the time would complement rather than replace the S-300 and would consider abandoning the S-300 if so it secured a replacement. Continue reading
Heger said Slovakia will receive additional equipment from NATO allies to match the donation. In response, Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad announced that Slovakia would receive the fourth Patriot system from the United States next week.
Russia has said it considers Western military supplies to Ukraine to be legitimate targets. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” to disarm and “denazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and its allies say Russia invaded without provocation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday the United States and 30 other countries are sending arms to Ukraine and that the process is being stepped up. He spoke of “new systems” that had not previously been provided by NATO allies, but did not want to go into detail. Continue reading
At a special meeting at NATO headquarters on Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for aircraft, land-based anti-ship missiles, armored vehicles and air defense systems. Continue reading
Slovakia had planned to modernize its S-300 a few years ago, but the effort was ongoing. The Slovak Army website said the S-300 battery has a range of 75 km and can hit targets up to 27 km above the ground.
Reporting by Robert Muller; Edited by Jason Neely and Raissa Kasolowsky