member of NATO claims Russians destroyed its fighter aircraft.

Slovakia's Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad' has suggested that Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets belonging to the Slovak army may have been intentionally sabotaged by Russian engineers who worked on them before they were given to Ukraine. Nad's statement came after former Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico criticized the government in Bratislava for giving up the valuable aircraft to Kiev. Slovakia retired its fleet of MiG-29s last summer as most of the planes were not operational. Last month, the Slovak government announced that it would be giving 10 MiGs with engines and another three without engines to Ukraine's forces. Nad' now suggests that the jets may have been intentionally damaged by Russian technicians who had worked on the planes at the Sliac air base in Slovakia until last year.

The investigation has failed to prove any ill intent on the part of the engineers, but Slovakia's former highest-ranking pilot Lubomir Svoboda suggested there was "poor" workmanship on the jets. Russia's embassy in Slovakia has criticized officials for sending the jets to Ukraine, arguing that it was illegal and could lead to an escalation of the conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has stated that the MiG-29s would be destroyed by Russian forces and that Kiev's allies were using Ukraine to simply dispose of old hardware.