Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heeger said: “This is a responsible decision by which the Slovak Republic, as a country that supports peace, freedom and the protection of human rights, has provided assistance to Ukraine in defense. We believe that this system will help save as many innocent Ukrainians as possible.“.
He added that the transfer of the S-300 air defense system to Ukraine “does not mean that Slovakia will become part of the armed conflict there.”. While there has not yet been any Russian comment on the matter .
Following the sudden Slovakian announcement, US President Joe Biden thanked Slovakia for taking this step, and this will be followed by an announcement by the US Secretary of Defense, that Washington will “place the Patriot air defense system in Slovakia.”
Military observers and experts consider this step as “a sign of fear of the reaction of Moscow, which may consider this Slovak declaration as an act of war against it.”.
Observers fear that this Slovakian step, which was blessed by the United States, will contribute to “igniting a wider conflict in Eastern Europe, and the spread of the Ukrainian fire in the wildfire of a region, which has traditionally been a Russian-Atlantic line of contact.”.
They also considered that “Russia’s targeting of Slovakia will mean the entry of NATO into the war, which has always stressed that it will intervene militarily against Russia, whenever Moscow attacks one of its member countries.”.
And to talk about what is happening, and the possibilities of expanding the scope of the confrontation outside Ukraine between Russia and NATO, the head of the Saqr Center for Studies, Muhannad Al-Azzawi, told Sky News Arabia: “Militarily, the S-300 surface-to-air missiles are an effective system for protecting strategic sites from bombing.” However, in light of the development of modern air defense systems and technologies and the manufacture of the S-500 system, the awarded weapon is considered a third-generation weapon.”
He continued, “This weapon is of limited effect and effectiveness, in light of the diversity of the means of air attack and the use of hypersonic weapons and drones, and we do not forget that this third generation is already available in the arsenal of the Ukrainian army, and it did not succeed in limiting Russian attacks.”“.
He added, “In contrast to the American weapons that were effective against the Russian forces, such as Javelin missiles against tanks and Stinger missiles against aircraft, and kamikaze or Switchblades against gatherings, as effective suicide planes.”“.
It seems that Slovakia took advantage of the war in Ukraine to renew its defense system associated with NATO, as Al-Azzawi explains, “to get rid of the legacy and remnants of its third-generation oriental weapons, such as the S-300 system, under the provision of supporting and assisting Ukraine.”
Al-Azzawi continued: “Slovakia had previously stipulated that this system be delivered to Kiev, obtaining a replacement for it from the United States, during the visit of the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to Slovakia. It is capable of doing this and the owner is an aggressor country, and any cooperation with this country is impossible?“.
It is clear, according to the military and strategic expert, that “Slovakia obtained American approval to provide it with American defensive weapons as an alternative to its eastern Russian arsenal, and this falls within the framework of employing war to establish arms markets in eastern NATO countries and Europe.”
He said, “It seems that it succeeded in its endeavors, especially since the delivery of the only strategic air defense system to Slovakia would create a security vacuum within NATO, unless it is compensated, as I said.”“.
Explaining the dimensions and reasons for the transfer of the S-300 system from Slovakia to Ukraine, the military expert went on to say: “The process of delivering weapons under seam and fire is a very complex process, and it can be described as even a military operation that indicates Slovakia’s actual participation in the war, from Russia’s point of view.”
In this regard, he noted that “Russia was warned by NATO countries against interfering in the military operation in Ukraine, especially neighboring Ukraine, and specifically warned against providing Kyiv with this defense system.”“.
Regarding the expected Russian reaction in light of what happened, Al-Azzawi said: “Slovakia, Poland and the Baltic states indirectly intervene in the war, which is very likely to lead to the formation of a counter-Eastern alliance, to which China and a number of other countries will join, as well as the expansion of the political and military conflict. In Ukraine and Eastern Europe as a whole, we are about playing with fire that could burn everyone“.
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