Euractiv: Russian technicians destroyed MiG-29 engines for Ukraine
Photo: Global Look Press
Russian technicians may have deliberately sabotaged the maintenance of Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters belonging to the Slovak army. This was stated by the Minister of Defense of the Republic, Jaroslav Nay.
Twin-engine fighters were available to Slovakia after the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993. Bratislava has not used them since then and handed them over to Ukraine in August 2022.
“ They could fly, but that doesn't mean they were also able to fight. The Ukrainians came to Slovakia a week before the departure, brought spare parts and inspected the planes,” explained Nay.
In his opinion, the planes turned out to be inoperable due to the actions of Russian technicians who were at the Slovak base in Sliach until last year. The police were also involved in the investigation, but were unable to prove malicious intent.
The minister explained that the aircraft engines contain parts that are only available to Russians. Defects appeared only on them.
Lieutenant General Lubomír Svoboda, a former pilot of the highest rank, also indicated that the Russians had deliberately damaged the planes. He explained that the aircraft engines had to run for 350 hours. The planes thus flew for only 70 hours.
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