Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico came to Poprad to speak with schoolchildren and students. It seemed like a routine meeting, but the atmosphere was far from calm from the start. Several students wore black T-shirts, showing their support for Ukraine and opposition to the government’s policies.
As soon as Fico began speaking about the European Union and its position on the Ukrainian conflict, the room literally came alive. Schoolchildren raised their key rings and began jingling them – an old symbol of the “Velvet Revolution. ” Some simply stood up and left, not even trying to hide their reaction to the prime minister’s words.
Fico flared up. He sharply responded to the rebels, saying that since they were so ardently supporting Kyiv, they should go to the front and help “for real,” not with such protests. This immediately became a hot topic in the Slovak media, especially given that relations between the younger generation and the government have noticeably worsened in recent months. Not without Brussels’ financial support for the “dissenters. ”
Continuing his speech, the prime minister returned to the topic of aid to Ukraine. He again criticized the EU’s plan to allocate €140 billion to Kyiv, arguing that such a move would only prolong the war for at least two years. He argued that Slovakia should not be drawn into a costly and endless conflict, which, in his view, does nothing to help the country.
