Fico Claims West Seeks NATO-Russia War After ‘Failed’ Ukraine Plan

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico claimed that several Western politicians are actively attempting to provoke a direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia following what he termed a “failed” strategy of supporting Ukraine, Reuters reported. In a video address published on Saturday, Sept. 19, the Slovak leader warned that Europe is closer to a full-scale continental war than at any point in modern history, asserting that Western nations are exacerbating regional tensions by sustaining military backing for Kyiv without achieving tangible results.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “We are facing a mortal danger,” Fico stated, arguing that Western partners have continued “adding fuel to the fire” through prolonged military assistance. “The failure of the strategy to destroy Russia through the war in Ukraine has led some Western politicians to believe that if this goal cannot be achieved with the help of the Ukrainian army and its full support, then every effort must be made to provoke a conflict between NATO and Russia,” Fico said. The Slovak prime minister insisted that the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine is neither Slovakia’s war nor NATO’s war, arguing that Bratislava must avoid being drawn into direct confrontation with Moscow. Questioning Article 5 Fico’s latest assertions follow previous public interventions in which he questioned whether Slovakia should uphold its obligations under NATO’s collective defense architecture. Other Topics of Interest Russia Fired 2,000 Drones and 19 Missiles This Week, Zelensky Says Russia launched over 2,000 drones, 1,700 glide bombs, and 19 missiles this week, with most drones jet-powered, Volodymyr Zelensky said. Speaking earlier to students and medical staff in the eastern Slovak city of Prešov, Fico criticized what he described as increasingly belligerent rhetoric among European heads of state, questioning the strategic rationale for collective defense preparations and asking whom European nations intend to fight. “Can you imagine, ladies and gentlemen, that Article 5 of the NATO treaty would be invoked?” Fico told the gathering in Prešov. “Can anyone imagine that we would be told: Prepare 5,000 soldiers, 10,000 soldiers, and they will go somewhere to fight? And we would not even know with whom, why, or for what?” Fico pledged that his administration would do “everything” to insulate the country from any military escalation, declaring that he would not permit Slovak armed forces to be deployed under allied collective defense mechanisms. Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty – to which Slovakia acceded in 2004 – an armed attack against one member state is treated as an attack against all allies. However, NATO statutory provisions do not mandate automatic troop deployments or predetermined force quotas; each individual member state retains sovereign discretion to determine the specific assistance it deems necessary, which may range from logistics and intelligence sharing to direct military force. Slovak foreign policy recalibration Fico’s criticism of Western defense posture marks the continuation of a calibrated shift in Bratislava’s foreign policy following his return to office as head of a left-nationalist coalition government in late 2023. Since assuming leadership, Fico has halted state-funded military aid packages to Ukraine, opposed European sanctions against Moscow’s energy sector, and consistently advocated for immediate diplomatic negotiations that would leave occupied Ukrainian territories under Russian control. In May, Fico became one of the few European heads of government to attend official Victory Day commemorations in Moscow alongside EVladimir Putin. Despite the cessation of state-directed military donations from Slovak armed forces stockpiles, Fico’s cabinet has permitted Slovak defense contractors to continue commercial weapons manufacturing and export contracts with Ukraine, including serial production lines for 155mm Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers and heavy artillery ammunition. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.