Minister Naď at Ramstein AB: Slovakia is determined to continue to support Ukraine

At the invitation of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď attended multilateral talks on support for Ukraine during the Ukraine Security Consultative Group event at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, today (26 April 2022). In his remarks, Mr Naď confirmed that Slovakia is determined to continue to provide Ukraine with humanitarian and military aid. Also in attendance at the meeting was Ukrainian Defence Minister Olexii Reznikov.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “Ukraine, which has been defending itself with perseverance against the Russian Federationʼs unprecedented aggression, needs strong and long-term support from the international community. This meeting represents an invaluable platform for ratcheting up our engagement. Our neighboursʼ ongoing fight for the freedom of their country and the lives of their citizens must not go unheeded without a response in the form of solidarity, depending on the capacity of individual States and Ukraineʼs needs.”

At the same time, the head of the MOD updated the conference on Slovakia's €130m worth of humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine, including on the S-300 air defence system and the possible sale of Slovakia's Zuzana 2 Self-propelled Gun Howitzers (SpGHs) to Ukraine. To this end he noted that “discussions on the contract are at an advanced stage, and, if it goes ahead, we are ready to give priority to supplying the equipment to Ukraine before it is delivered to the Slovak Armed Forces.” Adding, “The Slovak Republic still owns different military equipment of Soviet provenance, which offers up options for giving timely support to Ukraine.”

Minister Naď singled out ways in which Slovakia can offer assistance to Ukraine over the longer term, including through commercial repairs of damaged Ukrainian military equipment at SVK defence companies and training courses for personnel. As well as this, Slovakia continues to provide humanitarian response to Ukraine. It has done so since the very first day of the conflict. Today, the delivery of humanitarian consignments is getting more effective thanks to a humanitarian logistics hub. This has handled over 500 tonnes of aid to date.