Slovakia, under an agreement with Putin, sent military officers to Moscow

Slovakia sent two military officers to Moscow following an agreement between Prime Minister Robert Fico and Putin to resume military contacts between the two countries. The Russian military attaché is also expected to arrive in Bratislava. 

Brigadier General Slavomír Staviarksy has assumed the post of Slovakia’s military attaché in Moscow, with Colonel Ivo Gahir serving as his deputy. Their names have appeared on the official list of the military diplomatic corps in recent weeks.

This marks the first resumption of the exchange of military attachés between the two countries since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The last Russian military attaché served in Slovakia four years ago, after which he was expelled by the government team of then-Prime Minister Eduard Heger.

Fico announced his intention to resume military contacts with Moscow during a visit to Russia in May 2026. At that time, he told Putin that Slovakia wanted to resume cooperation at the level of military attachés.

According to Tomáš Valášek, a member of the Slovak Parliament, 46-year-old Maxim Verezhán—a career officer in the Russian Navy—may arrive in Bratislava. He previously worked at the Russian Embassy in Rome and has been stationed in Moscow in recent years.

There is currently no official confirmation of his appointment. Verezhany is not yet listed among the military diplomats accredited in Slovakia; however, according to Valasek, he has already received agrément—the host country’s preliminary consent to the diplomat’s appointment.

Valasek spoke out against resuming this format of cooperation. According to him, the Slovak military attaché in Moscow is unlikely to gain access to important information, while the Russian representative in Bratislava could use his diplomatic status to carry out disinformation and influence operations.

“Russia won’t let us do anything it doesn’t want us to do. On the other hand, we’re potentially getting someone here who could carry out disinformation and influence operations,” the lawmaker stated.

The Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained the resumption of military-diplomatic contacts as part of the government’s desire to build “pragmatic relations” with Russia. Among the arguments cited was the need to tend to military graves, a task previously handled by Russian military diplomats.

This was reported by Aktuality.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico called on the European Union to hold an emergency summit due to the rapid rise in fuel prices. He stated that, in his opinion, the EU is not responding sufficiently to the consequences of the oil crisis for member states. 

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico canceled his planned visit to Ukraine at the last minute. He was supposed to attend the “Carpathian Initiative” summit, but on September 18, he did not arrive at the leaders’ meeting in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. According to media reports, illness may have been the reason.