Military Space News
MILTECH
Slovaks buy bullets for Ukraine in defiance of Russia-friendly PM
Slovaks buy bullets for Ukraine in defiance of Russia-friendly PM
By Laszlo JUHASZ
Bratislava (AFP) April 17, 2024

Slovaks have raised hundreds of thousands of euros for ammunition for Ukraine in a few days as part of a crowdfunding campaign, the organisers said Wednesday, in defiance of a government that has refused to send military aid to Kyiv.

Thousands of people have already contributed 750,000 euros ($798,000) since Monday, when the "Peace for Ukraine" group launched the initiative, organisers said.

Since coming to power last year, populist Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has stopped military aid to Ukraine and advocated for peace talks with Russia.

"We, the residents of Slovakia, want to and can help," said Zuzana Izsakova, a representative of the fundraising initiative.

"We want to show that it is not only the government and Robert Fico who decide on this matter," she told AFP.

The organisation hoped to raise one million euros and plans to funnel all of the money to an international initiative spearheaded by the Czech Republic to buy ammunition for Ukraine.

The Czech prime minister said Tuesday that 20 countries had pledged enough to buy 500,000 artillery shells for Ukraine outside Europe.

The Slovak government has not joined the initiative.

One of the donors, Tomas Benetin, cited that as his main motive to contribute.

"I wanted the world to know that Slovakia does not only consist of pro-Kremlin politicians," the 36-year-old from Kosice told AFP.

In recent months, Fico has made a number of inflammatory comments over Russia's invasion, questioning Ukraine's sovereignty and calling for Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow to end the war -- something Ukraine has repeatedly ruled out.

Earlier this month, Fico's longtime ally Peter Pellegrini won a presidential election in the EU and NATO member of 5.4 million people, after divisions over the Ukraine war dominated the vote.

- 'In the right hands' -

Marian Kulich, a representative of "Peace for Ukraine", said the crowdfunding campaign was born out of opposition to the government's stance on Ukraine.

"We are convinced that many people in Slovakia do not identify with the rejection of the Czech government's initiative," Kulich told AFP.

Izsakova said the group wanted to match the one million euro ($1.05 million) donated by the Slovenian government last month.

One supporter of the Slovak crowdfunding campaign is Holocaust survivor Otto Simko, who said his own wartime experiences could be applied to events in Ukraine.

The 99-year-old former journalist took part in the 1942 Slovak National Uprising, an attempt to resist German troops during World War II.

"We fought the aggressor, the German occupation... It was impossible to negotiate with them, they had to be defeated," Simko said in a campaign video for the ammunition initiative.

"If I can only give 20 euros to buy one single bullet, I will know that this bullet is in the right hands," he added.

Another supporter of the fundraising initiative, filmmaker Pavol Pekarcik, pleaded for donations having spent months in the war-torn Ukraine shooting documentaries.

"The feeling of helplessness is probably the worst thing a person can experience in their life," he said in a video message promoting the campaign.

"This is how we can help the Ukrainian defenders so that when someone shoots at them, they don't have empty hands," Pekarcik added.

Related Links
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
MILTECH
German defence giant to build ammunition plant in Lithuania
Vilnius (AFP) April 16, 2024
Lithuania and German weapons manufacturer Rheinmetall agreed Tuesday to build an ammunition plant in the Baltic state, in a new sign of Europe re-arming to counter any threat from Russia. Germany's largest military equipment maker and the Lithuanian government signed a letter of intent to set up a factory to make 155mm artillery shells in the EU and NATO member that was once a Soviet-ruled nation. "This will be the largest ever defence investment in Lithuania," Economy Minister Ausrine Armonaite ... read more

MILTECH
West repelled strike on Israel -- why not Ukraine, asks Estonia PM

Jordan says won't become 'theatre of war' between Israel and Iran

Ukraine has 'critical need' for air defence: NATO chief

Ukraine 'ran out' of missiles to defend key plant, Zelensky says

MILTECH
Russian missile attacks kill 8 in Ukraine, damage residential building and railway

Russian missile barrage on Ukraine city kills 18

Hezbollah says launched new rocket barrage at Israeli-annexed Golan

Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon reopen airspace closed over Iran attack on Israel

MILTECH
China's Low-Altitude Economy Set for Rapid Expansion

EU to impose new sanctions on Iran drone, missile producers

Iran says drones shot down, 'no missile attack for now'

U.S. imposes sanctions on Iran drone program in response to Israel attack

MILTECH
Troposcatter Technology by Ultra I&C enhances global defense networks

ATLAS Integrates DoD antenna into Hybrid Space Architecture

Eutelsat and Intelsat forge $500M partnership to expand OneWeb constellation

Satellites for quantum communications

MILTECH
Slovaks buy bullets for Ukraine in defiance of Russia-friendly PM

German defence giant to build ammunition plant in Lithuania

House passes $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan

US lawmakers pass new Ukraine aid after costly delay

MILTECH
Conflicts push military spending to 'all-time high': report

US, Canada target Belarus with sanctions over support for Russia's war

In Scranton, aging US factory makes shells for Ukraine

EU chief demands 'European awakening' on defence

MILTECH
China's Wang meets Jokowi, Indonesian president-elect Prabowo

NATO, EU chiefs welcome US Ukraine aid; Blinken heads to China with message on Russia

US, China defense chiefs hold first talks in nearly 18 months

Maldives votes in the shadow of India-China rivalry

MILTECH
Researchers unveil novel technique for creating atomically thin nanoscrolls

MIT.nano equipment to accelerate innovation in "tough tech" sectors

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.