STA, 17 February 2022 - Slovenia will respond to Ukraine's request for military and economic aid by providing technical equipment such as mobile kitchens, heated tents and dual-use equipment, but no weapons, Defence Minister Matej Tonin said in Brussels on Thursday after a two-day NATO ministerial.
Tonin stressed that NATO's intelligence and satellite footages did not confirm Russia's claims of withdrawal and reduction of military presence along the Ukrainian border, so NATO believed Russia was misleading the public.
The current situation is foremost harming the country's economy, so Ukraine asked for military and economic assistance, Tonin said, adding the country did not expect NATO countries to fight on its behalf. They are prepared to fight themselves if necessary.
Since the Ukrainian ambassador to Slovenia said the country needed mobile kitchens and heated tents, this is what Slovenia will provide, the minister said.
Ukraine has also requested additional aid as part of the European mechanism for civil protection. In the first phase, Slovenia will donate sleeping bags, boots, diesel generators and gloves in the total value of EUR 62,000.
"Slovenia currently has no plans to send weapons to Ukraine, but we will send dual-use equipment," Tonin said.
Srečanje obrambnih ministrov #DefMin #Nato je pokazalo, da je zveza Nato v kritičnih situacijah enotna - naša vrednota je ohranjanje suverenosti in ozemeljske celovitosti, naš cilj mir. #WeAreAlies pic.twitter.com/BZNRI6VE3y
— Matej Tonin (@MatejTonin) February 17, 2022
The main topic of the two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers was the planned strengthening of the presence of allied forces in SE Europe in response to Russia's threat.
Slovenia currently participates in the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence in Latvia under Canada's command, which was set up as a response to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea.
Slovenian troops serve in a contingent together with members of the Montenegrin army.
Tonin also attended in Brussels today a meeting of countries participating in the mission. He said that the contingent in which there was currently some 50 Slovenian and ten Montenegrin troops would be joined by nine or ten Macedonian soldiers in June.
According to Tonin, Slovenia is ready to increase the number of its troops in Latvia, in any other existing mission or in potential new ones. The problem with increasing the number of Slovenian soldiers is limited capacity, he said.
The minister also noted that representatives of the Defence Ministry had recently paid a working visit to Lithuania, where the Enhanced Forward Presence is led by Germany. Slovenia is prepared to increase cooperation in the future "but first we need to see what the future brings", Tonin said.
