PRAGUE, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Slovak prosecutors on Thursday terminated an investigation launched by Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government that alleged the former government committed a crime by donating fighter jets and air defense systems to Ukraine.
Bratislava District Prosecutor Rastislav Remeta said the dozen Soviet-era MiG-29 jets and S-300 and KUB air defense systems donated to Ukraine were outdated, not fully operational and lacked missiles and pilots. He said their donations did not constitute a crime, as Fico and his aides claimed.
“In terms of timing, value, the (state auditor’s) report and the information available, it has not been proven that the government breached its fiduciary duty,” Remetta told a televised news conference.
The former government, led by Eduard Heger, and Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad helped Ukraine defend itself against a Russian invasion, donating equipment in exchange for promised reparations from NATO allies.
When pro-Moscow left-wing nationalist Fico returned to power in late 2023, he halted government military aid to Ukraine, although he allowed commercial sales to continue growing.
A senior defense official in Fico’s party said last year he suspected Nader’s donation was “crime of sabotage, treason, abuse of power and fiduciary duty.” Fico said the donation undermined Slovakia’s own air defense capabilities.
(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Mark Heinrich)