Slovakia's government has asked the police to investigate former cabinet minister and defense minister Jaroslav Nad for handing over fighter jets and an air defense system to Ukraine to defend against russian aggression.
Ìgor Melicher, state secretary at the Defence Ministry and a member of the ruling Smer-SD party, has said this, the Reuters agency reported on Friday.
Melicher said the transfer of the air defense system exposed Slovakia's airspace and put citizens at risk. According to him, the previous government made such decisions while in temporary positions, so it had limited powers to make foreign policy decisions.
"I am convinced that Nad betrayed Slovakia. 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," Melicher emphasized.
The new government under Robert Fico dramatically changed policy after coming to power in October 2023 and stopped all military supplies to Ukraine, although it allowed transfers to continue on a commercial basis. For his part, Jaroslav Nad rejected any illegal actions and said that he would make the same decision again.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on March 17, the Slovakian government decided to transfer 13 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine at an extraordinary online meeting.
On March 23, the Ministry of Defense of Slovakia announced the transfer of the first MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine.
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