EUR 1.5M in three days: Slovaks rally behind arms fundraiser for Ukraine

That's according to Euractiv, Ukrinform reports.

Despite more than 20 countries joining the Czech global initiative to purchase ammunition for Kyiv, the Slovak government decided not to take part as it claims the conflict "does not have a military solution" and "sending weapons to Ukraine is only prolonging the war."

However, Slovaks, who disagree with the government's stance, have taken matters into their own hands by launching a fundraising campaign to join the Czech initiative instead of their officials.

"We cannot accept the fact that our government refuses to aid our neighbor. Let us prove that Slovakia is not cowardly and stands on the right side of history with a civic fundraising for ammunition. Let's help Ukraine despite our pro-Russian government," the organizers wrote on the fundraising's official website, launched on Tuesday, April 16.

The fundraising campaign results from the combined efforts of several organizations and activists with years of experience helping Ukraine, including Mier Ukrajine, Darček pre Putina, Donio, and All4Ukraine.

Many public figures have also backed the campaign, including the almost 100-year-old Otto Šimko, a former partisan and prisoner of the German occupiers during the Second World War.

"It was impossible to negotiate with the aggressors; they had to be defeated. This experience from World War II also applies to Ukraine," Šimko says in the video supporting the initiative.

The fundraiser was also backed by former foreign minister and pro-Western diplomat Ivan Korčok, who lost to Peter Pellegrini in the final round of the presidential race on 6 April.

"Why did I support this collection? It's simple. Our closest neighbor was attacked; he is defending himself, and that is not possible without armaments. The war can end immediately – when Russia stops its aggression. Supporting Ukraine is not prolonging the war, it is supporting the existence of a neighbor," Korčok wrote on social media.