In Slovakia, a criminal case is initiated against former government officials because of military aid to Ukraine

The Ministry of Defense of Slovakia is filing a criminal case against the countryʼs former Acting Prime Minister Eduard Geger and former Defense Minister Yaroslav Nagy for the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets and Kub anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine in March 2023 during Gegerʼs tenure.

This was reported by the Slovak publication Denník N.

The State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Slovakia, Ihor Meliher, said that because of military aid to Ukraine, Geger and Nadia are suspected of such crimes as sabotage, abuse of authority by an official, and abuse of official duties when disposing of someone elseʼs property.

He called the actions of Gegerʼs cabinet unconstitutional and contrary to contractual provisions regarding military equipment.

"Following this decision, our skies remain unprotected and our citizens are at risk," he said.

Nagy defended the decision to provide MiGs to Ukraine as "legally sound" because it was "based on legal analysis and collective government approval." His allies say the criminal complaint is part of a hybrid war originating in Russia, Bloomberg writes.

At the same time, Meliher says there is no legal analysis that would allow the interim government to transfer military equipment to another country. According to him, the materials provided by former Defense Minister Nagy "did not correspond to the characteristics of an official document duly registered in the agenda of the ministry."

"I personally believe that Yaroslav Nagy is a traitor, and he should not go unpunished," said Melikher.

Prime Minister Robert Fico promised to end military aid to Kyiv after returning to power last year. The previous administration led by Eduard Geger, an ally of Kyiv in resisting the Russian invasion, failed to win a vote of confidence in the parliament and was in the status of a caretaker government even before it decided to send the planes to Ukraine.

• On March 23, 2023 , Slovakia transferred the first four MiG-29s from its arsenal to Ukraine. The following month , Slovakia transferred nine more of its fighter jets to Ukraine. In addition to the MiG-29, part of the Soviet-made Kub anti-aircraft missile systems were transferred to Ukraine at that time.