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Talking peace, selling arms
Production of bodies for large-calibre ammunition for the manufacture of 155-millimetre artillery shells at ZVS Holding in Snina on Friday, October 4, 2024. (source: TASR - Roman Hanc)
Slovakia remains the world’s largest car producer per capita, but fresh – if not entirely flattering – data from the Statistics Office highlights another booming export sector: arms, ammunition, and combat vehicles.
In 2024, Slovakia’s arms exports more than doubled from the previous year, reaching €1.15 billion. Compared to pre-war figures, the surge is even more dramatic – in 2021, the country’s defence exports barely topped €100 million. The 2024 figures even outstrip those of neighbouring Czechia. Relative to GDP, Slovakia’s arms exports accounted for 1.1 percent, just shy of the 1.2 percent share in the United States.
And there’s more growth ahead. With the EU poised to pump hundreds of billions into rearming its member states, Slovakia’s defence industry could see even greater expansion in the coming years.
The data is all the more striking given Prime Minister Robert Fico’s government, which took office in late 2023, has consistently opposed military aid to Ukraine. One of its first moves was to halt direct military assistance from Slovakia’s armed forces. Yet it made no such move on private defence contracts.
“We said before and after the elections that we would not restrict (defence) companies because we need economic growth,” Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer) reiterated on Wednesday, when asked about the latest export figures. “It’s great because it creates jobs,” he added, stressing that the numbers reveal nothing about whether Slovak arms are ending up in Ukraine. He also pointedly noted that “weapons don’t just kill – they also protect peace.”
Slovakia’s arms industry is extensive, producing howitzers, tank and aircraft simulators, combat vehicles, radios, military excavators, demining equipment, IT systems, handguns, radar towers, and cannons.
Slovak Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer) during the signing of a preliminary agreement on cooperation in the supply of ammunition for the Polish army, following a meeting with his Polish counterpart Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz (third from the left) in Warsaw on February 24, 2025. (source: TASR - Jaroslav Novák)
Related: Slovakia’s defence sector is dominated by two major forces: the state and the Czech arms-dealing Strnad family. The Strnads control an impressive four arms manufacturers in the country: ZVS Holding, MSM Land System, ZVS Armory, and Vývoj Martin. Crucially, they also co-own Slovakia’s largest arms producer, ZVS Holding, in partnership with the government. The family’s ties to the ruling Smer party run deep. Under Smer-led governments, the Strnads acquired several Slovak arms firms, secured lucrative military contracts, and saw their affiliated executives take up positions in state institutions, writes Denník N.
History: During the socialist era, Slovakia’s arms industry was a powerhouse, supplying weapons not only to the Czechoslovak military but also to Soviet-aligned armies. However, the sector collapsed rapidly after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
“War meeting”: Prime Minister Robert Fico may have dismissed informal gatherings of European leaders on Ukraine aid – such as those in London and Paris – as “war meetings” he refuses to attend, but that has not stopped Slovakia from having a seat at the table. At the latest such meeting in Paris on March 11, Slovakia was represented by a high-ranking military official, Slavomír Vermičák. The revelation came not from the government, but from opposition MP Vladimíra Marcinková.
Quote: “Every day of the war in Ukraine means Slavs killing each other, which I have opposed from the very beginning of the conflict. I am the prime minister of a country that loves peace,” Moscow-leaning PM Robert Fico said on Wednesday.
MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR
Bratislava reroutes trucks: Officials have banned transit trucks from using the capital’s busiest bridge – at least in one direction. The move aims to cut congestion and pollution.
Beata Balogová’s column: His voters back a pro-Western Slovakia, yet President Peter Pellegrini stays quiet as Robert Fico deepens ties with Moscow. Is he playing it safe – or playing both sides?
Slovakia’s next big thing: Footballer Leo Sauer’s value has skyrocketed in just six months, with his Dutch performances turning heads.
“A climate fix”: A gas company is set to turn an old reservoir near Nitra into the country’s first CO₂ storage site.
On the Slovak border: Once an imperial retreat, today Holíč is a hidden gem waiting to be rediscovered.
New rules: Bratislava tightens parking at Železná Studnička, the city’s sought-after green area.
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FEATURE
How Slovak Russophiles are twisting Štúr’s legacy
The statue of Ľudovít Štúr in Liptovský Mikuláš holds a freshly released title from the pro-Russian publisher Nitrava. (source: Facebook Slavica)
Pro-Russian groups in Slovakia are weaponising the words of writer and politician Ľudovít Štúr to justify Putin’s influence. His calls for Slavic unity under Russia are being revived to fuel disinformation campaigns. But is this really the legacy of a man who fought for Slovak independence?
LIVE FROM CROATIA
Opposition MPs go ‘hacienda hunting’
Slovensko MPs Július Jakab, Igor Matovič, and Rastislav Krátky. (source: Facebook/Slovensko)
Encouraged by reports of Prime Minister Robert Fico’s alleged villa in Croatia, opposition MPs Igor Matovič, Július Jakab, and Rastislav Krátky, from the Slovensko movement, have travelled to Croatia to expose luxury properties reportedly owned by figures linked to the ruling Smer party through a series of videos.
In the coastal village of Ražanj, brothers Marek and Matej Gocník, from the Slovak town of Komjatice, are said to own swanky villas. Marek previously worked as an EU funds official under Smer’s former economy minister Ľubomír Jahnátek, while their sister heads Slovakia’s Land Registry and was a key aide to Kajetán Kičura – the controversial former head of the State Material Reserves agency, who was found to have hoarded gold bars in his safe. Another villa in the area is owned by the nephew of Smer MP Anton Stredák, while a nearby property belongs to the ex-husband of Hlas’s Economy Minister, Denisa Saková. Her ex-husband once led Bratislava’s public transport company. Oligarch Jozef Brhel also owns a luxury complex in the area. His neighbour is said to be cardiologist Juraj Frajt, who was appointed in December as head of the Central Slovak Institute of Cardiac and Vascular Diseases and is reportedly close to Fico. Businessmen Rudolf Trebatický and Peter Kubík also have properties there. Transparency watchdog Zastavme korupciu flagged them, along with Frajt, in 2016 over dubious public procurement deals, notes Sme.
“We’ve uncovered the real luxury den of the Smer elite,” MP Július Jakab declared.
Slovak news outlet Aktuality reports that Zuzana Kaliňáková, wife of Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák (Smer), owns a villa on the Croatian island of Pag—an asset her husband failed to disclose in his official declaration. The property sits near real estate belonging to Martina Kánová, wife of high-profile Bratislava lawyer Vladimír Kán, known for securing lucrative state contracts. Also in the vicinity is land owned by Jaroslav Haščák, co-owner of the investment group Penta.
IN OTHER NEWS
The Constitutional Court has suspended a provision of the amended Freedom of Information Act that allowed authorities to charge fees for providing information. The amendment, which took effect on March 1, was challenged by a group of opposition MPs and Ombudsman Róbert Dobrovodský. On Wednesday, the court accepted their request for a constitutional review, putting the controversial measure on hold.
Slovak students will see the return of the one-day half-term break, as Education Minister Tomáš Drucker (Hlas) confirmed on social media. He has signed a decree to reinstate the holiday, with the change set to take effect from April 1.
New direct bus routes will soon connect Slovakia’s Banská Bystrica Region with Hungary, linking Lučenec and Rimavská Sobota to the Hungarian towns of Salgótarján and Cered. The new services aim to ease cross-border commuting for work and study while also simplifying travel to Budapest.
Former police officer Ján Kaľavský, convicted of corruption and leaking confidential police information, has begun serving his prison sentence.
A new exhibition celebrating Vespa scooters has opened at Bratislava Castle, bringing together enthusiasts of the iconic Italian brand. Members of Slovak Vespa clubs gathered in the castle courtyard on March 12, 2025 to mark the occasion. (source: TASR - Pavol Zachar)
Illegal migration across Slovakia’s borders dropped by more than 94 percent last year, according to official data. Slovakia’s border with Ukraine has seen a sharp rise in illegal crossings, with a 280 percent increase recorded—amounting to 914 more migrants. Nearly all those crossing outside official checkpoints are men of conscription age.
Slovakia’s Academy of Sciences may receive a slice of the country’s increased defence funding to support research and development, President Peter Pellegrini said on Wednesday. Speaking after a visit to the academy, he also announced plans to reconvene a roundtable of parliamentary party leaders to unify Slovakia’s foreign policy stance across the political spectrum.
The Vojany-Uzhhorod gas pipeline has once again fallen silent, with Ukraine halting gas imports from Slovakia after a brief month of activity.
THURSDAY WEATHER BRIEFING: Mostly cloudy to overcast, with rain or showers in many areas. Snowfall expected in high-altitude regions. Daytime temperatures will range from 9°C to 14°C, reaching around 16°C in some southern areas.(SHMÚ)
Beckov Castle and the Church of St Stephen of Hungary, as seen from the Beckovské Skalice educational trail in Beckov on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (source: TASR - Martin Medňanský)
HAPPY NAME DAY: March 13 is a special day for Vlastimil, so if you know one, don’t forget to send your warmest wishes. Všetko najlepšie!
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