Slovaks raise almost €2 million for ammunition for Ukraine

Activists in Slovakia who are unhappy that Robert Fico’s government has refused to send Ukraine military aid have raised almost €2 million to facilitate the supply of artillery ammunition to Kyiv.

As reported by Reuters, the Slovak fundraising campaign Ammunition for Ukraine was set up after Fico’s government refused to participate in a Czech procurement initiative involving hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds for Ukraine being purchased outside the EU.

In a video that kickstarted the campaign, one of the organisers, 99-year-old journalist Otto Simko, insisted that the Russians must be driven out of Ukraine so that "peace can be spoken of on terms that suit Ukrainian independence".

"When I heard about the Czech government's initiative, I was very pleased to hear that all ways are being sought to help Ukraine defend itself against the [Russian] aggressor, because there is no other way," Simko explained.

Campaigners say they aim to show that the majority of Slovaks do not agree with the change in the government’s foreign policy following the September elections.

By Friday, four days after the initiative was launched, Ammunition for Ukraine had raised €1.94 million. More than 30,000 contributors each made an average donation of €64, according to the campaign website.

Co-founder Zuzana Izsakova said the fundraiser would be open-ended, with proceeds going to the Czech ammunition drive, from which the first deliveries to Ukraine are expected in June.

Earlier, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he was certain that the ammunition initiative can provide 1.5 million artillery rounds for Kyiv within the year.