Ukraine has repeatedly called on Western nations to use air defenses and heavy military ground equipment to help repel a Russian military offensive now in its second month. “I can confirm that Slovakia donated the S-300 air defense system to Ukraine on the basis of its request to assist in self-defense due to an armed attack by the Russian Federation,” Heger said in an email. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register NATO member Slovakia uses a battery of the Soviet-designed S-300 air defense system, which it inherited after the break-up of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Heger, who visited Kyiv on Friday, also said that Slovakia’s defense was secured. Slovakia’s donation is the first known case of a country sending an air defense system to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24. In March, NATO allies Germany and the Netherlands moved three Patriot air defense batteries to Slovakia, which Bratislava said would then replace, instead of replace, the S-300s and that it would consider abandoning the S-300s if it secured them. replacement. read more Heger said Slovakia would receive additional equipment from NATO allies to offset the donation. Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad then announced that Slovakia would receive the fourth Patriot system from the United States next week. Russia has said it considers Western military missions in Ukraine a legitimate target. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a “special military operation” for the disarmament and “deprivation” of Ukraine. Ukraine and its allies say Russia invaded without provocation. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Thursday that the United States and 30 other countries were sending weapons to Ukraine and that the process would intensify. He spoke of “new systems” that have not yet been provided by NATO allies, but declined to go into details. read more Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba called for planes, surface-to-air missiles, armored vehicles and air defense systems at a special meeting at NATO headquarters on Thursday. read more Slovakia had planned to modernize its S-300s several years ago, but the effort was not completed. The Slovak Army website reported that the S-300 battery had a range of 75 km and could hit targets up to 27 km above the ground. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Robert Muller. Editing: Jason Neely and Raissa Kasolowsky Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
