Slovak president believes transfer of MiG jets to Ukraine was a mistake

Slovak President Peter Pellegrini has said the previous government made a mistake by transferring MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, but added that he will not take part in the political row that has developed around the donation in recent days.

Source: Pellegrini on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Pellegrini said that, while serving as prime minister, he had ordered that Slovakia's MiG-29 fighter jets remain combat-ready until they could be replaced by new US-made F-16 aircraft.

"To this day, I believe it was a mistake for Slovakia to give up its MiGs without having a replacement in place. No other country has handed over its own weapons and then depended solely on the help of its neighbours," he said.

Pellegrini rejected claims by the previous government coalition that the MiG-29 fighter jets amounted to little more than scrap metal.

Quote: "If that were the case, none of the aircraft could have flown from Slovakia to Ukraine. As prime minister, I had the opportunity to personally test-fly a MiG-29, and the jet was capable of performing all required tasks.

As president of the Slovak Republic, I will not take part in the political or criminal disputes that have recently arisen over the donation of fighter jets. However, the people of Slovakia have a right to know whether the then-government led by [Eduard] Heger, which governed without the confidence of parliament, was entitled to donate Slovakia's MiGs to Ukraine."

Background:

• In 2024, Slovak authorities requested a police investigation into the former government and then-defence minister Jaroslav Naď over the transfer of MiG-29 fighter jets and a Kub air defence system to Ukraine.
• In November 2025, law enforcement officials concluded that the previous government's decision to transfer Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets and the KUB air defence system to Ukraine did not constitute a criminal offence.
• However, Slovak police sought to arrest Naď in mid-June while he was on holiday in Canada. He described the actions of law enforcement as a "spectacle".
• It recently came to light that Slovak police are probing the 2022 transfer of secret documents on Soviet-made S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine.

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