Slovakia will finance the production of two Bozena IV demining machines for Ukraine

In Slovakia, the new government will not send military aid to Ukraine, but will finance the production of two Bozena IV demining machines.

This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Juraj Blanar.

"The Slovak Republic will finance the production of two Bozena IV demining machines for the Ukrainian side, which should arrive in the Kherson region at the beginning of next year," Juray Blanar said.

Slovak demining complexes Bozena are primarily designed for demining the territory contaminated by explosive objects. Their feature is that they are remotely controlled and can clear an area of up to 9 kilometers in an hour. The complex is accompanied by a demining group of five people. Two sappers with metal detectors clean up after the machine, two collect the remains, and the commander drives the machine and monitors the entire process. Such machines are already in Ukraine, they are demining the Kherson region and the Kharkiv region.

Also, Minister Juraj Blanar emphasized that Slovakia wants to help Ukrainians in winter and will send appropriate humanitarian aid. According to the minister, there is also a proposal for work in the field of demining.

In addition, Slovakia wants "some initiatives related to a ceasefire and finding a peaceful solution to this conflict" to be started as soon as possible. "Because the current course of the war seems frozen and does not lead to any result. It is long past time to come up with similar initiatives that Slovakia will support," added the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia.

The Slovak government will not help Ukraine with equipment, but promises to honor contracts for the supply of weapons at the level of private companies.

• On October 25, 2023, Robert Fico became the prime minister of Slovakia (for him for the fourth time) from the pro-Russian Smer party. In the election campaign, he promised to end military aid to Ukraine, criticized sanctions against the Russian Federation, called for negotiations between the countries, opposed LGBT rights and defended the countryʼs right to veto in the EU. His rhetoric is similar to that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. According to the form of government, the country is a parliamentary republic, so support for Ukraine does not depend on the decisions of the president.
• The day after his appointment, Fico informed the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, that his government would not provide military aid to Ukraine, only humanitarian aid.
• On November 8, the Slovak government did not approve €40.3 million in military aid to Ukraine. This help was offered by the former leadership of the Ministry of Defense of Slovakia. The package included four million units of 7.62 mm ammunition, 5,172 units of large-caliber ammunition for the 125 mm gun, 140 rockets for the "Kub" air defense system, eight mortars, and 1,200 mines. In total, Slovakia provided Ukraine with 13 packages of military aid worth €671 million.