Slovakia’s outgoing government has halted security assistance for Ukraine. The Slovak Social Democracy party (Smer-SD) won last week’s election on a platform of ending military aid to Kiev.
On Friday, a Slovakian government spokesman announced the caretaker government would halt shipping weapons to Ukraine, “The outgoing bureaucratic government in Slovakia will not send any more military material to Ukraine,” he said.
On Monday, Robert Fico, the leader of Smer-SD, was given the responsibility of forming a new government after his party won a plurality in the October 1 election. Fico has until October 16 to garner a majority in Bratislava’s parliament for a cabinet of ministers that will lead the new government. Until that time, the caretaker government will implement the promised end of arms transfers to Kiev.
Fico’s Smer-SD holds 42 seats out of the nation’s 150-seat parliament. The party is expected to partner with the leftist Hlas party a spin-off of Smer-SD and the nationalist Slovak National Party to form a majority in the legislature.
Slovakia joins Poland and Hungary, all three countries bordering Ukraine, in denying aid to Kiev. Warsaw ended arms transfers to Ukraine after President Zelensky slammed Poland during his address to the UN General Assembly. Budapest has cut support to Kiev over issues with grain trade and Ukrainian ethnic laws that harm Hungarians living in Ukraine.
