Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico promised before taking office that his government would “not fire a single bullet” at Kiev, but his country’s arms industry is booming, largely due to demand on the front lines in Ukraine. Since taking office in October 2023, Fico, known as one of the EU’s most pro-Moscow leaders, has taken steps to end Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine, arguing that it only prolongs the war.
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He has criticized EU sanctions against Russia and spoken out against Ukraine's NATO ambitions. He has also met with Putin, angering other bloc leaders who have taken a cold stance toward the Russian president. But while the government in Bratislava has refused to arm Kyiv, Slovakia's private arms manufacturers are profiting from arms sales to Ukraine.
In 2024, Slovakia’s arms exports rose to €1.15 billion, equivalent to about 1% of the country’s economic output. This is about double the level recorded in 2023 and about ten times higher than before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. According to data from the analytical and consulting company Oxford Economics, Slovakia has become one of the fastest-growing arms exporters in the world in terms of share in total exports, with this figure increasing to about 0.7% in the period 2022-2024, writes Kyiv Post.
Although 2025 was not included in the statistics, Slovak news portal SME estimates that arms exports could have reached 1.7 to 2% of GDP last year — a record figure.
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Slovak Deputy Defense Minister Igor Meliher said that this trend “demonstrates not support for war, but support for trade.”
It should be noted that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte recently stated that the United States, Hungary, Slovakia, and several other countries are against Ukraine's accession to NATO. The NATO Secretary General noted that active work is currently underway on security guarantees for Ukraine.
Previously, “FACTY” reported that Slovakia opposed financing the war in Ukraine with Russian assets.
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