Slovak projectiles reach the front in Ukraine, although the country's authorities officially refuse to arm Ukraine in the full-scale war that Russia started in 2022.
Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kaliniak is pushing for a significant increase in ammunition production because it will strengthen the economy. However, the country's government does not have full control over where Slovakian-made shells end up, as buyers decide for themselves what to do with the ammunition they buy.
According to Bloomberg, Slovakia wants to increase production of large-caliber ammunition from 125,000 to 200,000 next year.
„Our political position is that we will not provide free military aid to Ukraine, because in this way we will support the conflict. But we will not limit defense production when it supports the gross domestic product, because in this way I will harm the interests of Slovakia, explained the minister, quoted by the UNIAN agency.
„From a historical perspective, this is the path I really want to take. "The defense industry has a high added value," Kaliniak explained. According to him, the country's defense industry should provide about 2% of economic growth this year.
We remind you that Bulgaria was in a similar situation. Last year, the German newspaper DIE WELT reported that at certain times Bulgaria covered a third of the ammunition needed by the Ukrainian army. The Ukrainian army was desperately short of the fuel and Soviet-caliber ammunition needed for their defense. Salvation comes from an unexpected place: Bulgaria, they wrote in Germany at the time. To avoid official arms supplies, ammunition and military equipment enter Ukraine through third countries.
The BSP, then in government, claimed that they did not know that Bulgarian weapons were reaching the front in Ukraine, and the “Euro-Atlanticists” from PP-DB refused to stand publicly in front of the Bulgarian citizens and say that Sofia is helping the victim Ukraine to legally defend itself from the Russian aggressor.