Ukraine war: Slovakia's Robert Fico eyes comeback in Saturday's election
Leading most polls is the populist SMER party of Robert Fico, who has pledged an immediate end to Slovak military support for Ukraine.Fico was forced to step down as prime minister following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak in 2018."If SMER enters government, we will not send a single round of ammunition to Ukraine," he recently told supporters.What remains are commercial contracts for heavy weapons, including self-propelled howitzers ordered by Ukraine and its western partners. The threat has set alarm bells ringing in Western capitals, as they scour the veneer of NATO and EU unity for signs of cracks. It's an echo of the rhetoric coming from Slovakia's neighbour and fellow NATO member Hungary, which says only diplomacy can secure peace.But for some, Fico's threat is a red herring.Bratislava has been a loyal and steadfast ally, supplying Kyiv with surface-to-air missiles and helicopters, even donating its entire fleet of retired MiG-29 fighter je...