Slovakia Delivers 122 Tonnes of Ammunition to Ukraine, Funded by €4.5 Million Raised by Slovaks

Slovakia has handed over ammunition to Ukraine, which was raised by more than 70,000 Slovaks, Noviny reports.

According to the initiator of the collection, Fedor Blaščák, the Slovaks raised more than four million euros in a record three weeks and organised the transfer of ammunition to a large logistics warehouse. From there, six trucks went to Ukraine. 

The collection was launched after the Slovak government announced that it would not join the Czech initiative to collect ammunition for Ukraine. The ammunition is reportedly already at the disposal of the Ukrainian army.

The organiser said that it took four to five months from the announcement of the arms procurement with this money to the moment they were delivered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

‘We donated more per capita than Canada, Iceland or Slovenia,’  Blaščák added.

Marian Kulic, a partner in the collection, says that the Slovak government did not join the fundraising, so Slovaks decided to raise money to help Ukraine themselves.

Out of the 4.5 million that the Slovaks have raised in the Ammunition for Ukraine collection, 4 million have been used so far. Another 500 thousand will be used in the near future. 

‘A new contract has already been signed, but these are smaller grenades for grenade launchers. And they should be delivered by the end of the year,’  Blaščák concluded.

The country's Defence Minister Robert Kaliniak said that Slovakia is a democratic country and its residents can do what they want. According to him, the government will provide Kyiv with other assistance instead of military aid. 

In particular, on Monday, 7 October, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar held bilateral talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Sybiga, during which it was announced that Slovakia would provide 500,000 euros for Ukraine's energy needs.