Russia Slovak opposition: Fico's trip to Moscow is "betrayal"
The fact that Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico was the only EU head of government to attend the victory celebrations in Moscow has earned him fierce criticism at home. "With this trip, the head of government is spitting in the face of our allies," said Branislav Gröhling, leader of the liberal Freedom and Solidarity party, indignantly. It is a "betrayal" of Slovakia and NATO that Fico is meeting "personally with the war criminal Vladimir Putin" while he is waging an aggressive war against Ukraine and threatening Europe's security.
09.05.2026, 21:49
SDA
Last year in 2025, Fico was the only head of government of an EU country to travel to Moscow to celebrate the victory over National Socialism. At the time, thousands protested against this in Bratislava and other cities in Slovakia. This year, the initiative "Peace of Ukraine" (Mier Ukrajine) organized a rally in front of the Russian embassy in Bratislava as a contrast to Fico's trip to Moscow. The aim was to commemorate the victims of the Russian war of aggression.
"Reverence" for victims of National Socialism
Fico himself justified his participation in the victory celebration in Moscow as a "tribute" due to all those "who fought against fascism and those who became its victims and had to endure incredible suffering". That is why he always takes part in commemorative events in several places in the West and East, this year in addition to Bratislava, these include Dachau, Moscow and Normandy. Fico visited the former Dachau concentration camp on Thursday and plans to attend the traditional commemoration of the Normandy landings in June.
Fico also emphasized that he was deliberately not taking part in the actual military parade. After his arrival on Friday evening, he laid a wreath at a memorial to the fallen instead. He said that it was important to distinguish between historical commemoration and the current war of aggression in Ukraine. Although Slovakia, like other EU countries, has always condemned the Russian invasion as a breach of international law, it does not want to do without Russian energy supplies.
Fico's idea of a foreign policy that must be open "in all directions" is met with skepticism and rejection within the EU and NATO. The Baltic countries refused to allow the left-wing nationalist to fly over their territory to Moscow, while Poland had already done so the previous year. Fico had to take a detour via the Czech Republic and Germany.
