Slovak Defense Minister, Jaroslav Nad, on Tuesday (22/2) said it had prepared its armed forces to help deal with the possible flow of refugees from Ukraine after Russia recognized the sovereignty of two separatist regions, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Slovakia, which borders Ukraine in the east, has so far not reported any increase in activity on its border.
As part of NATO, Slovakia's move is certainly in line with the organization's decision to believe that Russia is still planning a major attack in Ukraine.
After this, other Eastern European countries will certainly make preparations for the possibility of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion.
Nad said Slovakia would have sufficient capacity to deal with the influx of refugees. Slovakia is also ready to face the developments that occur in the future.
"We are in the process of increasing combat readiness, but the main reason is the potential threat of migration and not the threat of war," Nad said after attending a meeting of the state security council in Prague.
It's not just a refugee issue, Nad said security forces are also seeing more cyber threats and hybrid activity coming from Russia.
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova said on Tuesday that cases of disinformation and propaganda from Russia were increasing in Slovakia.
Slovakia's current position is to support its allies in the European Union in all actions against Russia, including the imposition of sanctions that are expected to prevent an invasion of Ukraine.
