Slovakia's Ukraine-skeptic Prime Minister Robert Fico accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow next May, Fico announced on Nov. 27.
Fico is known for inflammatory statements on Ukraine and the war that often echo Moscow's talking points. He has repeatedly criticized military aid for Ukraine and called for restoring relations with Russia after the war.
"The Red Army and the nations of the former Soviet Union played an irreplaceable role in defeating fascism and the victory in World War II," Fico said on Facebook.
"The Slovak government values the legacy of the struggle against fascism, the historical truth about World War II, and the role played by the Red Army... That is why I was happy to accept the official invitation by Russian Presiden Vladimir Putin to attend these important celebrations, which I will."
Fico's planned visit comes as another jab at the Western efforts to internationally isolate Putin over Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine. Slovakia is a member state of both NATO and the EU.
The Kremlin uses the annual victory celebrations for propaganda purposes and to showcase its military might, while Russian propaganda leans heavily on the Soviet victory in World War II.
Putin has repeatedly hurled false accusations of fascist and Nazi tendencies against the Ukrainian government after the EuroMaidan Revolution, presenting the full-scale invasion as an effort to "de-Nazify" the country.
Echoing the Kremlin's propaganda talking points, Fico said in 2023 that the war in Ukraine began in 2014 because of "Ukrainian fascists" killing "ethnic Russian civilians." He also said this year in September that some of Ukraine's units have links to fascism and Nazism, leading to a rebuke from Kyiv.
Last month, Fico appeared in an online interview with sanctioned Russian propagandist Olga Skabeyeva, claiming that the West grows tired of supporting Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
