Slovak President Peter Pellegrini called the previous government’s decision to hand over MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine a mistake, while refusing to participate in the political disputes that have erupted in recent days around their donation.
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He wrote about it on his Facebook profile — he informs “European Truth”.
Pellegrini recalled that while still prime minister, he had given the order to keep Slovak MiG-29 fighters in combat readiness until their role was taken over by the new American F-16 aircraft.
To this day, I consider it a mistake that Slovakia got rid of its MiGs when it had no alternative at the time. No other country has acted in such a way that, after handing over its own weapons, it became completely dependent on its neighbors for assistance,” he emphasized.
The Slovak president also rejected claims by the previous ruling coalition that the MiG-29 fighters were just a “piece of junk.”
If that were the case, none of them would have been able to take off from Slovakia and reach Ukraine. While still prime minister, I had the opportunity to personally fly a MiG-29, and the aircraft was fully capable of carrying out all its missions,” he noted.
“As President of the Slovak Republic, I will not participate in the political or criminal disputes that have arisen in recent days surrounding the transfer of fighter jets. However, the people of Slovakia have the right to know whether the then government of Eduard Heger, ruling without the confidence of parliament, had the right to transfer our MiGs to Ukraine,” he added.
Social media users reacted quickly to the president’s post. Comments under the Facebook post indicate that some Slovak public opinion is taking his words with a grain of salt, even irony. Among the most liked comments were mocking ones, which may suggest that some users aren’t taking these accusations against the previous government entirely seriously. One commenter wrote, among other things: “Chyba bola teba zvoliť za prezidenta,” which roughly translates to: “I guess it was a mistake to elect you president.”
“Chyba bola teba zvoliť za prezidenta”, which loosely translates to: “I guess it was a mistake that we elected you president.”
In 2024, it was reported that the Slovak authorities had asked the police to open an investigation against the former government and former Minister of Defence Jaroslav Nadiya in connection with the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets and the Kub anti-aircraft defence system to Ukraine.
In November 2025, law enforcement authorities announced that they had found no evidence of a crime in the previous government’s decisions regarding the transfer of Soviet MiG-29 fighters and the KUB anti-aircraft defense system to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in mid-June, Slovak police attempted to detain former Defense Minister Jaroslav Nadja while he was on vacation in Canada. Nadja himself described the police’s actions as a “spectacle.”
In recent days, it has also been revealed that Slovak police are investigating the transfer of secret documentation on Soviet S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine in 2022.
Journalist and Editor-in-Chief of Nowiny Wschodnie, a news platform followed by more than 140,000 people on social media. A graduate in Journalism and Social Communication, he has been co-creating and developing Nowiny Wschodnie since 2017. He gained professional experience working with local and international media.
He specializes in fact-checking, countering disinformation and propaganda, and information security. His work focuses on Poland, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Polish-Ukrainian relations. He is also the founder of a non-profit organization working in the fields of integration and intercultural dialogue.
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