Slovak President Peter Pellegrini on Wednesday condemned the violation of Polish airspace by Russian drones, which occurred during the previous night. "Slovakia firmly stands by Poland, its neighbour and ally," the head of state posted on social media. Pellegrini also stressed the need to bolster NATO’s air defence.
"I would like to point out what I often say, that Slovakia is currently in a very dangerous position, as it has no means of air defence," said the head of state. If a similar situation were to occur in Slovakia, according to the president, people could only hope that the drones would not fall on populated areas.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) called the recent violation of Polish airspace by attack drones a serious incident with potentially far-reaching consequences. He emphasized the need to determine whether the breach was intentional or accidental, and who controlled the drones. Fico also expressed solidarity with Poland and offered cooperation in the investigation.
Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer) said invoking Article 4 of the NATO Treaty is a valid consideration. He confirmed that Slovak airspace was not violated and noted that while Slovakia would respond similarly to Poland, it lacks the means to do so.
Progresívne Slovensko (PS) vice-chair Tomáš Valášek on Wednesday reacted: “It is not true that we do not have protected skies. We do. We have Czech, Polish, and Hungarian aircraft, which is an activity that began under previous governments when Mr. Naď was minister.”
Former Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď criticized the government for its inaction and claimed that the air defence systems are in storage—which Minister Robert Kaliňák denied, saying that the systems are at the base but have technical problems. Slovakia is currently waiting for a new one. Minister Kaliňák: “The system consists of two parts. The ground component should arrive in 2026 as part of the first battery of the Barak MX system we purchased. The individual components will begin arriving at the end of this year and the beginning of next year.”
Incidents involving Russian drones violating Polish airspace are beyond the pale, the opposition Christian Democrats KDH declared on Wednesday. They also criticised remarks made by Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár (Smer), who stated that he "wants to believe that the drones that entered Polish territory were not intended to attack Poland, but were meant to land on Ukrainian soil". It described this statement as unacceptable.
According to the opposition, this is an open provocation on the part of Russia, says Veronika Remišová from the Hnutie Slovensko. “We call on Robert Fico to convene the Security Council, as he has so far been unable to clearly identify the aggressor threatening our security interests.”
Source: TASR, STVR
