Slovak President Allows Nine Citizens to Fight in Ukrainian Army, Refusing Three Times More Appeals

The Slovak President granted nine requests from fellow citizens for permission to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, while there are three times as many rejected requests.

As TASR reports, Josef Matei, Head of the Communications Department of the Slovakian presidential office, said that from the first day of the full-scale war in Ukraine until 2 August 2023, the Slovak President announced 35 decisions on such issues.

"9 of these were about permission, and 26 – about refusal to provide permission for military service in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the official said. 

The permit procedure in Slovakia involves reviewing such an application and commenting on it in the Ministries of Defence, Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs. Having looked into all these comments, the president approves or declines the permission to serve in another country's army. 

Meanwhile, among Czech citizens, 146 people received President Petr Pavel's consent to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine; 132 received it from Miloš Zeman, Pavel's predecessor.