OREANDA-NEWS Slovakia has handed over to Ukraine its only anti-aircraft missile system C-300. This was stated by the Prime Minister of the country Eduard Heger. «Slovakia has provided Ukraine with the С-300 air defense system. The Ukrainian people are bravely defending themselves and us. It is our duty to help, not to stand aside», the prime minister wrote on Twitter.

He also noted that the transfer of the system «does not mean that Slovakia has become part of the conflict». «I assure you that the defense of the Slovak Republic is still guaranteed and will be strengthened in the coming days by an additional missile defense system of our allies», Heger said in an address published by the TV channel Tvnoviny.sk.

The TV channel also reported that the «secret transportation» of the complex took two days. On March 17, Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad stated that his country would transfer the air defense system to Kiev if it received a replacement for «compliance with defense interests».

The fact that the Slovak authorities had previously approved the transfer of the anti-aircraft missile system to Ukraine was reported a day earlier by the American TV channel CNN, citing its own sources. To do this, the country's authorities negotiated with US and NATO allies for compensation at the expense of another air defense system. In its capacity, according to the interlocutors of the TV channel, the American Patriot system was considered. On March 19, the Netherlands and Germany announced that they had decided to deliver Patriot to Bratislava, the complexes should be on duty in mid-April.