Media: Slovakia Arming Ukraine Bypassing Prime Minister Fitzo

The ammunition is massively supplied to the AFU.

Slovakia's defence minister is insisting on a significant increase in the manufacture of ammunition. Although his government steadfastly refuses to arm Ukraine, Slovak-made shells are still finding their way to the front.

This year the production of large-calibre shells in Slovakia is expected to reach 125 thousand units, and next year the country wants to increase this figure to 200 thousand, Bloomberg writes.

The central European country aims to increase production of large-calibre shells to 200,000 next year from 125,000 this year, said Robert Kalinak, defence minister and close ally of Prime Minister Robert Fitzo.

However, the government does not have full control over where those shells end up, as Defence Minister Robert Kalinak said it is up to the buyers to decide what to do with the ammunition they buy.

The official also disagreed that selling Slovak-made shells to Ukraine directly or through third parties contradicts the government's stance against military aid to Kyiv.

‘Our political declaration says that we will not provide free military aid to Ukraine because in this way we will support the conflict. However we will not limit defence production when it supports the gross domestic product, because in this way I would damage Slovakia's interests,’ Kalinak said.

Renaissance of Ammunition Production

In the early 1990s, Slovakia's munitions production fell by 90 per cent, leaving tens of thousands of people out of work, and abandoned arms factories were reminders of the industry's decline.

Yet Russia's invasion of Ukraine has revived interest in the arms industry and prompted Slovak companies to try to increase production.

When Prime Minister Robert Fitzo came to power last October, he said he would invest 100 million euros to revive the industry, which also makes howitzers and mortars. Now Kalinak is thinking ahead and wants Slovak companies to be involved in every step of the supply chain for ammunition production. That goal will take years to achieve, he said, without giving details.

Fitzo's government has stopped direct military supplies to Ukraine from its own stockpiles. His predecessors used to send ammunition, tanks, S-300 systems and even a fleet of MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine. At the same time, Fitzo said his government would not block deliveries of arms and ammunition from private manufacturers.

Former defence minister Jaroslav Nad said that the vast majority of products from Slovak factories making 155mm ammunition go to Ukraine.

‘In 2023, almost all production capacity for the next three years was sold to Ukraine, either directly or through other countries,’ he specified.

Although this move has helped Kyiv replenish its ammunition stockpile, Slovakia remains highly sceptical for Ukraine's further accession to the Western world.

Fitzo is strongly opposed to Ukraine's membership in NATO, despite the fact that Slovakia signed a declaration at the NATO summit in Washington that envisages Ukraine's future within the alliance.

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