Slovak President Denies Requests from Citizens to Serve in Ukrainian Army

On November 4, 2024, it was reported that Slovakia’s President, Peter Pellegrini, has rejected all four requests from Slovak citizens seeking permission to serve in the Ukrainian armed forces since taking office in June of this year. This information was confirmed by the TASR news agency.

The previous president, Zuzana Čaputová, had granted several requests for military service in Ukraine during her term, which coincided with the onset of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Under Slovak law, serving in a foreign army without the president’s consent is a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment.

During his presidential campaign, Pellegrini supported the current Prime Minister Robert Fico’s stance on ceasing arms supplies to Ukraine from the state reserves, despite previously advocating for military assistance to Kyiv.