The armies of the V4 countries have intensified their cooperation since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. At the press conference after the joint meeting in Banská Štiavnica, the V4 defense ministers informed about it. According to the Minister of Defense of the Slovak Republic Jaroslav Naď (OĽANO), in addition to direct military aid, in Ukraine it is also about cooperation in the field of humanitarian aid, in the field of hybrid threats, aid for medical personnel or in the training of soldiers. Assistance is also being prepared in the field of demining territories, in which V4 soldiers have experience. "All four V4 countries agreed on further aid to Ukraine," he emphasized. The V4 defense ministers also talked about cooperation in connection with the creation of another EU battle group, which will be on alert already in the first half of next year.
According to the Minister of Defense of the Czech Republic, Jana Černochová, there is agreement not only in the area of strengthening peace missions, but also in the area of modernization of the armies. "In all the V4 countries, the modernization of the armies has so far been on the back burner. Now we have to catch up with what was not done in the previous period," she stated. In this context, the V4 countries also agreed on cooperation in the area of the arms industry. "We have some military equipment in common," she reminded. According to Naď, projects in this direction are already being implemented on a bilateral level, but cooperation in the arms production of several V4 countries is also planned for the future. Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said in connection with the war in Ukraine that his country will support such solutions that will allow peace to be reached as soon as possible. Naď also appreciated the current air assistance in protecting the borders of the Slovak Republic provided by Poland and the Czech Republic.
