Remeta: Three Out of Four Criminal Proceedings on Aid for Ukraine Dropped
Bratislava, 5 February (TASR) - The law-enforcement authorities have halted criminal proceedings in three out of four cases in connection with aid provided to Ukraine under the previous government, with these involving the donation of MiG-29 fighter jets and the S-300 air defence system, as well as the termination of a contract with a Russian company providing maintenance for the fighters, Bratislava Regional Prosecutor Rastislav Remeta told a press conference on Thursday.
Remeta added that an investigation into the handover of technical documentation to Ukraine's military attache is still ongoing.
Regarding the termination of the contract with the Russian company, Remeta said that a senior official at one of the Defence Ministry's departments did not act in an arbitrary manner when terminating the contract because he followed the instructions and acted on the basis of the defence minister's decision. He added that the successor company of the firm that originally signed the contract accepted the decision without a challenge.
According to Remeta, the donation of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in 2023 under the then caretaker government was in line with the law and the efficient management of state property, as maintaining fighters that weren't even capable of adequately protecting Slovakia's airspace would have cost tens of millions of euros a year. The investigation has revealed that cabinet members did not act with the aim of obtaining unlawful benefits, nor did they exercise or exceed their powers contrary to the law, said Remeta.
A similar conclusion was reached in the case of the S-300 air-defence system, as suspicions that then defence minister Jaroslav Nad misled the cabinet into subsequently approving the donation have not been confirmed, stated Remeta.
"In the event of war or in a state of war, Slovakia wouldn't have been able to fully protect its airspace using the available systems of the Slovak armed forces, as the air-defence assets and tactical aircraft were insufficient both in terms of quantity and interoperability," said Remeta, adding that the roughly 40-year-old equipment had in fact almost zero value, despite the Defence Ministry having calculated the damage at more than €500 million based on the assets' book value, which remains fixed over time. According to him, the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) also used the book value in its report.
Remeta said that two additional criminal complaints were registered last week with the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Bratislava in connection with aid to Ukraine, with the first one lodged against a police officer acting in the case, and the other one against other people who worked at the Defence Ministry at that time, preparing documentation for the then minister.
A special investigation team called 'Donor' (Darca) was set up at the Office for Combating Organised Crime (UBOK) in November 2024 in response to a report drawn up by NKU. The team was tasked with investigating suspicions of illegal actions during the previous election term by former defence ministry representatives and members of the government in connection with donations of Slovak military equipment worth hundreds of millions of euros to Ukraine.
