Slovakia is ready to supply Ukraine with S-300 air defense systems to deal with the Russian military campaign, but with conditions attached.
"They have discussed with the United States, Ukraine and other allies the possibility of deploying or supplying the S-300 system to Ukraine, and we are ready to do so," Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad told Reuters. March 17th.
Minister Nad emphasized: "We are ready to do it immediately, but only if there is a suitable compensation plan." Mr. Slovakia said that Slovakia will provide S-300 to Ukraine if NATO compensates for Slovakia.
Regarding the proposal, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is visiting Slovakia, said: "I can't make a statement right now. We will continue to discuss those issues with our allies. Of course, It's not just the US's problem, it's NATO's problem."
The US and its Western allies have provided many weapons and military equipment to support Ukraine. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the country needs air defense systems similar to the S-300 that Slovakia has.
Slovakia is a member of NATO, has a common border with Ukraine stretching 98 km. The country owns a battery of S-300. In the near future, Slovakia is expected to receive Patriot missile defense systems according to the deployment plan to strengthen NATO troops on the eastern flank of the military alliance. However, Slovakia believes that deployment is not enough, moreover the Patriot systems are not really owned by this country to serve the needs of defending the territory.
The S-300 is a long-range surface-to-air missile system developed by the NPO Almaz complex, first deployed by the Soviet Union in the late 1970s. The S-300 is used to intercept attack vehicles. airborne such as airplanes, rockets and cruise missiles. Recent versions, the S-300 is also capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, stealth fighters, low-flying targets... According to world military experts, the S-300 is one of the most effective anti-aircraft missile systems in the world today.
Earlier this week, sources familiar with CNN reported that the US State Department is looking for countries that already have Soviet-made S-300 air defense missile systems and looking to ship them to Ukraine. At present, Washington still does not know where to source missiles for the S-300 systems, because the missiles are produced only by Russian defense companies.
The administration of US President Joe Biden has been asked by Congress to transfer a variety of heavy Soviet-made military equipment to Ukraine, including the S-300 and MiG-29 fighter jets. Despite this, the Pentagon rejected Poland's proposal to move its fleet of 28 MiG-29s to the US base in Germany for Washington to deliver directly to Ukraine. Washington considers this plan to be unworkable because it could provoke Russia.
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