After announcing the supply of MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, Slovakia received a large package of compensation from the United States and Europe.
Last week, Slovakia officially announced its plan to aid fighters to Ukraine, a total of 13 Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters, becoming the second Western country to respond to Zelensky's request for assistance from fighters, the first being Poland.
MiG-29
Against the background of the refusal of Western powers to provide fighters to Ukraine, Poland and Slovakia's wave of "risking the world" moved Zelensky badly. The MiG-29 is broken, good and bad is a heart, and there should be no less courtesy.
As a result, as soon as the president's side finished thanking him, the Ukrainian military came out to punch him in the face, saying that this is all some kind of broken things, and it can't deal with the cruise missiles and drones of the Russian army.
The words are not unreasonable, the Russian army itself does not use the MiG-29, and it is reasonable to be disliked by the Ukrainian army. Speaking of which, Slovakia's MiG-29s were still obtained when they separated from the Czech Republic, which was certainly a good thing at that time, but after so many years, fighters have been constantly updated, and MiG-29s have gradually withdrawn from the historical stage.
Zelensky
In August last year, the Slovak Air Force officially retired the MiG-29, citing the deterioration of relations with Russia, the departure of Russian technicians one after another, and their own people will not repair it, and it is not cost-effective to repair, it is better to abandon it.
Just in time for Zelensky to seek fighters all over the world, Slovakia simply made a favor and packed 13 MiG-29s that could still be used and sent them to Ukraine, clearing a wave of stocks by the way.
All given to Ukraine, what to do with Slovakia's own air defense? Of course, it is warmed up with neighboring countries. At the critical moment, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland stood up, saying that they would protect Slovakia's airspace until 2024, when 14 F-16s bought by Slovakia and the United States arrived.
The Slovak Air Force is armed with MiG-29 fighters
Of course, Slovakia is not charitable. According to the plan discussed in advance, Slovakia will receive a discount order for 12 AH-1Z helicopter gunships from the United States after supplying fighters to Ukraine, including various parts, related training and more than 500 supporting AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
Originally, the original purchase cost more than $1 billion, but now it only costs $340 million, rounding up equals no money. With such a big discount, who is not moved by it?
In addition to advanced fighters from the United States, the reward for Slovakia's aid to Ukraine also includes 250 million euros in compensation from the European Union. In this way, they themselves only need to spend 90 million US dollars to obtain 12 American-made helicopter gunships, which is what the Slovak Air Force currently lacks.
AH-1Z gunship
For the United States, this deal is not a loss. Due to their status, it is inconvenient for them to provide fighters to Ukraine themselves, so they have to use this compromise method to send them out by the hands of small Eastern European countries. Not only can it be appeased Zelensky, but it is not considered to have crossed the "political red line", and there is an explanation for both Russia and Ukraine.
To put it bluntly, this is a political transaction between a large country and a small country, one paying, the other contributing. Let small countries do what offends people, and big countries only need to give a little sweetness. Slovakia is not the best in this regard, and when it comes to the whole work, it depends on the three Baltic countries.
At the end of last year, when the situation in the Baltic Sea worsened due to the Ukraine crisis, the three Baltic countries aspired to increase military spending to 3% of GDP, while NATO's demand for member states was 2%.
NATO holds military exercises in the Baltic Sea
At present, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania account for 2.34%, 2.10% and 2.36% of GDP, respectively, although not as good as the United States, but relatively high compared to other member states.
But so what? In terms of the size of these small projectile countries, the GDP would not have been much, and even if the military budget was raised to 3%, the extra money might not be enough to buy a few fighters.
In the case of Lithuania, the total GDP in 2021 was $66.4 billion, less than $2 billion by 3%. What can $2 billion do? To put it mildly, the United States provides more than this amount of military aid to Ukraine every month.
Biden
Therefore, the purpose of these small countries to increase military spending is not to buy much equipment, but to show loyalty to the United States. Don't look at me weak and poor, but my anti-Russian heart can be seen day by day, and I would rather fight my family than lose the momentum.
The younger brother has said so, can you not express it as a big brother? Increasing the number of local garrisons and selling weapons and equipment at a discount are routine operations, and for the United States it is just a matter of moving a little finger. But for small countries, these small favors have far exceeded the cost of their increased military spending.
Putin
It's just that pity the common people, who live well, are somehow dragged into the war game by politicians, watching them frantically die and provoke Russia, and are forced to live in fear. In case of a real fight, Ukraine still has a vast territory to retreat, what about them, will they not have to jump into the Baltic Sea to take refuge?