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RIGA, Latvia (AP) — The new left-wing populist government of Slovakia, a neighbor of Ukraine that has been among its staunchest supporters, rejected a proposed package of military aid for Kiev on Wednesday, fulfilling a campaign promise by Prime Minister Robert Fico to cut off aid in the war against Russia.
The blocking of the roughly $43 million aid package, which was supposed to include missiles and ammunition, is not expected to significantly alter Ukraine’s combat capabilities. But the government’s decision, issued at a cabinet meeting, is the first concrete sign of growing fatigue among Kiev’s supporters in NATO as the Russian invasion approaches the two-year mark.
Fico and his far-left Smer party ran a campaign focused on promises to end military aid. Fico argued that “people in Slovakia have bigger problems.” This stance was echoed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who remains Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally among European Union leaders.
“I will support zero military aid to Ukraine,” Fico said in late October after his party’s victory in a Sept. 30 national election. “An immediate halt to military operations is the best solution we have for Ukraine.” The EU should transform itself from an arms supplier to a peacemaker.”
The aid package proposed by the previous interim government included air defense system missiles and millions of rounds of small arms ammunition, according to the Slovak Defense Ministry.
To date, Slovakia has been among Ukraine’s strongest supporters, previously approving 13 aid packages worth a total of more than $700 million.
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a Germany-based think tank, Slovakia is one of Ukraine’s top supporters in terms of donor countries’ gross domestic product – ahead of the USA and Great Britain.
Slovakia was the first NATO country to send Ukrainian fighter jets, and Kiev sent 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 aircraft to help the Ukrainian military offset Russia’s far greater air superiority.
Russia has previously rejected Slovakia’s influence in supporting Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Slovakia did not have such a large share in the arms supply, so this will have little impact on the entire process.”
Ukraine’s relations with another key supporter, Poland, have recently deteriorated due to a dispute over grain exports. In September, Polish President Andrzej Duda compared Ukraine to “a drowning man clinging to whatever is available.”
Kiev has also been unsettled by Republicans in Washington, who in early October removed the Biden administration’s proposed $6 billion in aid to Ukraine from a short-term budget proposal, raising doubts about the durability of U.S. support for the defense of Ukraine emerged.
With international attention largely focused on Israel’s war in Gaza, tensions have risen in Kiev and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has worked to shore up global support. On Tuesday, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican proposal to give Israel U.S. military aid separate from aid to Ukraine.
However, in a ray of hope for Kiev, the European Commission on Wednesday recommended opening formal accession negotiations with Ukraine, provided it meets remaining conditions related to fighting corruption and limiting the power of oligarchs. The proposal marked a crucial milestone on Ukraine’s path to becoming a member of the EU
The 27 EU heads of state are expected to make a final decision next month. If they support the motion, the process could take more than a decade, but would confirm Kiev’s support in EU capitals.
“This is a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as a member,” Zelensky said on social media. The Commission also recommended opening accession talks with Moldova and granting Georgia official candidate status.
Ukraine’s desire to join the EU is at the root of the Kremlin war. In late 2013, at Moscow’s insistence, then-Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych broke his promise to sign political and economic agreements with the EU, triggering the Maidan Revolution. Yanukovych abandoned his post and fled to Russia, prompting Moscow to invade and illegally annex Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.
Also on Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made a surprise visit to Kyiv to discuss the country’s economic recovery. He emphasized that the Biden administration remains committed to aid to Ukraine and is committed to maintaining bipartisan support for further aid.
“It has always been not only possible but necessary for a country like the United States to pay attention to many things at once and to do many things at once,” Buttigieg said. “And all of the efforts that the United States is making in relation to the Middle East are, in my view, part of the same story of global engagement and in no way come at the expense of our continued unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s success.”
Buttigieg said he was in Kyiv to “carry out an important task” by appointing an infrastructure adviser for the country who will “provide technical assistance on project delivery as part of the country’s reconstruction efforts.”
“It’s one of countless ways the U.S. continues to stand with the people of Ukraine in the long term and ensure their connection to the world,” Buttigieg tweeted.
As Ukraine struggles to maintain support in the West, Putin is working to strengthen his ties with his most powerful ally, China.
In a meeting with a senior Chinese general on Wednesday, the Russian leader welcomed growing military ties between the two countries. Beijing has emerged as Moscow’s main political and economic lifeline, helping Russia weather the political isolation and economic impact of Western sanctions.
“Our contacts in the military and military-technical spheres are becoming a matter of no small importance, a matter of increasing importance,” Putin told General Zhang Youxia, who is also deputy chairman of Beijing’s Central Military Commission.
Putin reiterated his constant criticism of the West and insisted that Russia and China “do not forge Cold War-style military alliances.” Rather, their cooperation is a “serious factor in stabilizing the international situation”. Putin accused Washington and the West of trying to “create a tense situation in the Asia-Pacific region… guided by their selfish interests.”
“We see all this and, together with our friends, especially from the People’s Republic of China, we are reacting to it calmly and cautiously and strengthening our defense capabilities, including through joint naval and air exercises,” Putin said.
Anastacia Galouchka in Kyiv and Natalia Abbakumova in Riga contributed to this report.