"Patriot" anti-aircraft missile systems (source: TASR)
Slovakia has never had so many air defence systems on its territory as it has today, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď has said in the wake of Tuesday's incident in Poland in which two civilians were killed by a missile that fell near its border with Ukraine.
Initial reports suggested the missile, which landed in the village of Przewodów, had been fired by Russian forces, either deliberately or by accident. But on Wednesday morning official information suggested it had been part of a Ukrainian air defence missile fired during the massive Russian strikes across Ukraine on November 15.
Slovakia, like Poland, is a frontline NATO state bordering Ukraine and the event has raised concerns that a similar incident could occur in Slovakia. There have particular fears since the early days of the war over the potential for such a scenario near the western-Ukrainian airport in Uzhhorod. The airport's runway ends just a few dozen metres from the Slovak-Ukrainian border.
The risk of such incidents like the one in Poland are higher when Russia extends its military activities so close to the borders with NATO states, Naď said.
"Russia's recklessness is getting out of hand," he wrote immediately after the first reports from Poland.
