Slovakia to Supply S-300 to Ukraine, Receive PATRIOT Missile System in Return

Slovakia will provide an S-300 air defense missile battery to Ukraine to help bolster its air defenses against Russian warplanes; in turn the United States will ‘reposition,’ one PATRIOT missile system in Slovakia.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, in statement, applauded the Slovak government's decision to supply an S-300 air defense system to Ukraine.

In return for their efforts, the U.S. European Command will reposition one Patriot missile system, manned by U.S. service members, to Slovakia, the secretary said, adding that he expects this battery and its crew to arrive in the coming days.

The length of their deployment has not yet been fixed, as the Defense Department continues to consult with the Slovak government about more permanent air defense solutions, Austin noted.

Slovak Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said in a separate statement: “Due to the technical condition, limited options of maintenance and age of the S-300 system, the deployment of the fourth battery of the Patriot system is great news for Slovakia and at the same time tremendous help for Ukraine.”

Providing the S-300 system to Ukraine does not mean that the Slovak Republic has become a part of the military conflict in Ukraine. Self-defence capabilities of the Slovak Republic are secured and will be strengthened by the fourth battery of the Patriot System that will arrive to Slovakia within the next week and will be deployed on the territory of the Slovak Republic as long as necessary, a Slovak MoD statement said.

Even though the S-300 version with Slovakia is the S-300PMU-1, one of its advanced variants, it remains to be seen how effective the nearly two decades-old system will be against the latest generation Russian warplanes and radars.

During the early days of the war with Ukraine, Russia claimed to have destroyed several units of S-300 in service with the Ukrainian Army.