Slovakia Signs For Donations Of MiG-29 Fighters & SAM System To Ukraine
Slovakian defense minister Jaroslav Nad’ signed an intergovernmental agreement to donate Slovakia’s retired MiG-29 fighters and a Kub surface-to-air missile system with Myrostrav Kaslan, Ukraine’s ambassador to Slovakia on Friday.
The signing follows an announcement earlier on Friday by Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger that his government had unanimously voted to approve donating the MiGs and Kub short-to-medium range surface to air missile system in a meeting earlier that day.
In the announcement, Heger said that his government would be on “the right side of history” for donating the aircraft and SAM system. In response to the Slovakian opposition’s previous claims that his caretaker government did not have a legal basis to donate the aircraft, Heger stated that the donations were legal under the Slovakian constitution. In a subsequent statement, Heger added that he had accepted an invitation to visit Kyiv made during a call to Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky announcing the donation.
According to Radio and Television of Slovakia, 10 MiG-29s will be donated, alongside three additional MiG-29s that will be donated without their engines. In addition to the aircraft, fuel and lubricants, spare parts, and ground support equipment will be supplied.
The Kub donation is composed of two launcher vehicles and their spare parts, one SAM radar, as well as 52 3M9ME and 148 3M9M3E anti-aircraft missiles.
Following Heger’s announcement of the donation, defense minister Jaroslav Nad’ stated that Slovakia will seek compensation estimated around 200 million dollars from the European Peace Instrument alongside receiving an additional 700 million dollars in American military equipment under a bilateral agreement, adding that the latter would include capabilities not previously possessed by the Slovakian Armed Forces.
The Slovak Air Force had retired its MiG-29s at the end of August 2022, with the government stating that it was considering donating the MiGs to Ukraine following their retirement. Slovak Chief of the General Staff General Daniel Zmeko said on Friday that the retirement had been brought on by difficulties in procuring spare parts and ammunition, with the Slovak Air Force also having ended training of new MiG-29 pilots ahead of the Air Force’s procurement of F-16s. A single MiG-29 will be retained for museum display.