Slovakia plans to expand military equipment repair base near Ukraine

Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said this after talks with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Berlin on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I assured Ms. Minister that our cooperation as part of the service hub that we have with a German company near Michalovce will continue, and we want to expand it so as to clearly meet the needs of the German side in the repair and maintenance of military equipment. The Ministry of Defense is interested in expanding this hub near Kosice," Blanar said.

At the same time, he recalled that Bratislava's position today is that the republic will not help Ukraine with materiel from the stocks of its own army, "because there is nothing left." In this context, the diplomat recalled the S-300 air defense systems, MiG-29 aircraft and armored vehicles, which Slovakia transferred to Ukraine back in 2022.

However, Slovakia will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the diplomat said. According to him, Slovakia is a member of the demining coalition as part of the Ramstein format and will actively work, because this is very important given that Ukraine is currently the world's most mine-contaminated country. Slovakia provides equipment in this area and helps with experts, Blanar added.

He emphasized the importance of supporting the neighbor in the energy sector. Since the beginning of the year, Slovakia has provided Ukraine with 52,000 MWh of electricity, which helps stabilize the Ukrainian power grid, two-thirds of which was destroyed by Russian airstrikes.

Slovakia will also be ready to help Ukraine during reconstruction, the minister said.

He stressed that Bratislava welcomes ways to find peace and hopes for Russia's participation in the second Peace Summit, "however difficult it may be," as well as for the participation of the countries of the Global South and China.

"I clearly stated that together with Germany we are very interested, and for us as Ukraine's neighbors, it is even more important for Ukraine to be a democratic, territorially integral state within internationally recognized borders. This is key for international law," Blanar said.