Slovak bid to arrest ex-defence minister exposes bitter row over war in Ukraine

Police in Slovakia have tried to arrest ex-defence minister Jaroslav Nad over aid donations to Ukraine, in a case he has condemned as politically motivated.

Slovak media said police had gone to his home on Wednesday morning but the former minister was not there. He later said he was on holiday abroad and proud of his actions.

Police said the case had been initiated by the EU's European Public Prosecutor's Office in Bratislava which said eight people had been detained on Wednesday as part of an investigation into alleged misuse of €7.4m (£6.3m) in funds.

However, it also exposes the political rift in Slovakia over the war in Ukraine.

The current defence minister in Prime Minister Robert Fico's populist-nationalist government has accused Jaroslav Nad of treason for giving fighter jets to Ukraine.

And Wednesday's police operation came to light a day after Fico floated the idea of neutrality for Slovakia, which has been a Nato member since 2004.

On the second day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the defence ministry under Slovakia's previous government ordered the immediate purchase of 12,000 rounds of 120mm mortar ammunition from state-owned defence company Konstrukta.

The state had previously sold off the obsolete ammunition to Konstrukta, but according to the Dennik N newspaper bought it back for more than they had it sold it for.

Slovakia's Supreme Audit Office (NKU) has since flagged the buyback as legally and financially irregular.

In its statement, the European Public Prosecutor's Office said it suspected the procedure for buying military aid for Ukraine was "rigged and that the ammunition may have been overpriced".

Of the eight people it said had been detained were four officials from the ministry of defence.

However, Jaroslav Nad, who now heads the Demokrati party, which has no seats in parliament, says the entire case is built on the fact that the previous government had come to Ukraine's aid.

"The ruling coalition needs to show its voters that their promises — that I would end up in prison for this help — are being fulfilled," he told the BBC from the Canadian city of Calgary.

"It is purely and simply a political process, and it demonstrates the pro-Russian direction of the Slovak government and the emerging autocracy in the style of Russia or Belarus."

Senior ministers in the Fico government – who came to power on a promise to halt military aid to Ukraine – have denied allegations of political interference.

Defence Minister Robert Kalinak told reporters that criminal proceedings were initiated based on an audit office report and were now continuing independently under the European Public Prosecutor's Office.

The former minister has vowed to co-operate fully with the investigation on his return to Bratislava.

Robert Fico famously promised "not to send one more round of ammunition" to Ukraine shortly before he won parliamentary elections in September 2023.

During a visit to the economy ministry on Tuesday, he said: "I have a feeling that things are shifting in the world... In these absurd times of rearmament, when arms companies are rubbing their hands together just like pharmaceutical companies did during Covid, neutrality would suit Slovakia very well."

The previous Slovak government had supplied not just munitions but also donated its sole S-300 surface-to-air missile battery as well as its entire fleet of 13 decommissioned MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine.

However, while the Fico government quickly halted the supply of Slovak army surplus stocks to Kyiv, commercial arms companies in Slovakia continue to play an important role in delivering ammunition and heavy weaponry to Ukraine.