(source: Sme)
New recruits are mostly coming via the city of Rostov on Don in Russia, the Aktuality.sk website reported.
The Slovak Foreign Affairs Ministry has meanwhile issued a statement, claiming that it notes the media-reported information with concern, the TASR newswire reported.
Aktuality.sk published an interview with the staff of the unit, without revealing the identity. When asked how many Slovaks are in the troop, the interviewee said there are four of them. The only person who had a leading post was first lieutenant Martin Keprta, who is currently recovering from injuries. Other Czechs and Slovaks have only ordinal ranks or serve as consultants.
The interviewee also explains how the ordinary day of the troop looks like, saying they respect the Minsk agreements. They claim that there have never been calm days and that there have been daily shootings and also injured people, as reported by Aktuality.sk.
When asked how long the fights may last, the source could not predict it.
“The truth is that Ukraine as a country starts collapsing, people stop believing propaganda and start sympathising with us,” the source told Aktuality.sk, adding there are various anti-maidans or support from the locals who send them information about where the Ukrainian soldiers are and how many of them are there. “The fights may be ended only by the intervention of the third side; either NATO or Russia.”
The source also describes the weapons they use, how much money they get and where they live.
“Although we cannot confirm the information about the involvement of Slovak citizens in the conflict in Ukraine as volunteers of separatist armed forces or other armed units, in any way we do not approve this behaviour,” head of the Foreign Affairs Ministry press department Peter Susko said, as quoted by TASR.
These ‘adventurers’ are acting on their own accord and contribute to further destabilisation of the situation, undermine diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute and thereby harm Slovak foreign policy interests, he added.
“Slovakia is openly and clearly disavowing from activities of these people and as well as further medialised activities aimed at adventurers recruiting,” Susko continued.
According to him, the priority of Slovakia’s foreign policy is a peaceful solution to the crisis through diplomatic negotiations. He added Slovakia supports the independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and unequivocally condemns any attempts to escalate the conflict.
“Slovakia is concerned about ceasefire violations, the use of heavy weapons that should have been withdrawn from the line of contact as part of the Minsk agreements, as well as the fact that people are dying and the humanitarian situation and peoples’ suffering grows,” stressed Susko.
Meanwhile, the Denník N daily reported about the call published on the Facebook social network by radicals from the Vzdor (Resistance) movement. They addressed all “brave, mentally and physically capable nationalists to try to infiltrate, if it is within their possibilities, into the army or police”. They explained that they would then be better prepared to fight for Slovakia as they would have access to weapons, or would be able to sabotage current politicians.
“It does not matter what methods will be used for our final victory,” the members of Vzdor claimed, as quoted by Denník N.
Vzdor Kysuce belongs to the most radical far-right movements in Slovakia. The Interior Ministry describes it as nationalist militia. Its members defend Nazi-allied Slovak state’s president Jozef Tiso and the regime. They also run around the forest in camouflage clothes and train how to fight and defend themselves, Denník N wrote.
