Slovaks Raise €5 Million to Buy Ammo for Ukrainians

The Slovak “Ammunition for Ukraine” fundraiser raised €600,000 ($654,436) to purchase ammunition for the Ukrainian army, its organizers reported. 

The freshly collected funds are the third since the organization started raising funds in April 2024. 

From April 2024 to March 2025, Ammunition for Ukraine reported that it raised some €5 million. 

“Over 75,000 donors in ammunition fundraisers from Slovakia, Czech Republic, and also from other countries of the world, also supporters and influencers understand the situation and we believe will continue to help,” Ammunition for Ukraine PR representative Sergio Danilov told Kyiv Post. 

So far, Ammunition for Ukraine has already delivered 2,700 122mm artillery shells and 5,500 grenades for grenade launchers.

The Slovaks set up the fundraiser “Ammunition for Ukraine – If not the government, we will send it” in response to Bratislava’s cessation of military aid to Ukraine, which happened following the election of Prime Minister Robert Fico, who took power in 2023. 

“I would like to use this opportunity and thank all the Ukrainians and Ukrainian soldiers for their heroism and bravery in defending their homeland and Europe fighting against the aggressor,” Danilov told Kyiv Post. 

Since Slovakia stopped sending military aid to Ukraine, Slovak activists have allied with the Czech Republic, contributing to a Czech government-led initiative to purchase materiel for Ukraine. 

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“The fund is called Endowment fund for Ukraine (Nadačný fond pro Ukrajinu) with their project called Gift for Putin (Dárek pro Putina) and they are responsible for ordering and delivering the ammo to the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Danilov said.

Otto Šimko, a 100-year-old Slovak partisan who fought against Nazis in the Slovak National Uprising in 1944 is the ambassador for the ammunition fundraiser. 

“This is proof that there is still a feeling in Slovakia that Ukraine needs to be helped because it is also about us,” Šimko is quoted in an Ammunition for Ukraine press release. 

Why Slovaks rally against their prime minister

The Slovak government, led by Robert Fico, has remained friendly toward Moscow despite its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has been ongoing since Feb. 24, 2022. 

After Ukraine announced it would cut the transit of Russian gas to Europe, Slovakia, heavily dependent on it, threatened to cut electricity flows to Ukraine and reduce aid for Ukrainian refugees. 

On Jan. 1, Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas to Europe through the Druzhba, Soyuz and Yamal-Yevropa pipelines. 

Although Ukraine warned about the halt months ahead, Hungary and Slovakia failed to find alternative sources, blaming Ukraine for the transit halt. 

On Jan. 8, Fico announced that Slovakia had secured a deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to obtain gas from Russia through Hungary. Fico also privately traveled to Moscow in December to meet Putin. 

Closer ties with Moscow fueled nationwide protests of Slovaks opposing Fico’s government. Apart from a demand to reaffirm Slovakia’s alignment with the EU and NATO, many Slovaks are also calling for Fico’s resignation. 

Protests against Fico also triggered a news wave of financing for Ammunition for Ukraine.

“We were outraged by our Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow, his insulting remarks about Ukrainians, and his ongoing efforts to steer Slovakia away from civilized Europe and into Russia’s orbit,” Marián Kulich, an activist for Mier Ukrajine – an organization that collaborated with Ammunition for Ukraine –  said at a press conference in Kyiv in January.

“While organizing the regular Slovakia is Europe protests, we also decided to mobilize the public and give them a chance to channel their frustration into concrete action by supporting the Ukrainian army in its fight against the aggressor,” she said.

Representatives of the Slovak Mier Ukrajine initiative aiming at attracting funds for ammunition and weapons to Ukraine. Source: The Slovak Spectator.