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Slovakia Profits from Arms Sales to Ukraine Even as PM Fico Blocks Military Aid
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has halted official military aid to Ukraine, denounced EU sanctions against Russia, rejected Kyiv’s NATO aspirations, and met with Vladimir Putin—even as Slovakia’s private arms industry thrives from weapons sales to Ukraine.
According to Politico on August 18, in 2024, Slovak arms exports surged to $1.25 billion—around 1 percent of the country’s economy. That is double the figure from 2023 and ten times higher than before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Deputy Defense Minister Igor Melicher told Politico that the booming arms trade does not contradict Fico’s political stance on limiting aid to Ukraine.
“The Slovak government pledged to its citizens in its manifesto that we will not send a single bullet from our state warehouses to Ukraine, and we are keeping this promise,” Melicher said. He explained that official government support consists of non-lethal aid and critical electricity supplies “necessary for the functioning of Ukraine as a state.”
At the same time, the government makes no attempt to hide its acceptance of private arms exports.
“We joined the European Union because of the values we share. We also respect the free market,” Melicher said. “Therefore, restricting defense industry companies would be quite hypocritical on our part.”
At the opening of an artillery ammunition plant last year, Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák insisted: “This is not support for war, but support for trade.” In March, asked about the rising export figures, he reiterated: “We said before and after the [2023 general] elections that we would not restrict defense companies because we need economic growth. It's great because it creates jobs.”
According to Politico, Melicher also noted that “most of the military equipment produced in Slovakia is not sold to Ukraine, but to Western partners, who will then decide what to do with this material.”
Earlier, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico declared that the “Slovak Republic will never support REPowerEU in gas supplies,” warning that the EU’s plan to end Russian gas imports after January 1, 2028, would harm Slovak households.
