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Slovakia said it has sent Ukraine an S-300 air defense system to defend itself against Russian attacks.
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The Soviet-era S-300 is a long-range surface-to-air missile system that can shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft.
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The small Eastern European country is the first NATO member to send such advanced weapons to Ukraine.
Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger has confirmed that it has sent its S-300 air defense system to Ukraine, making it the first NATO country to heed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s calls for high-powered missile weapons.
The S-300 is a Soviet-era surface-to-air missile system that can shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft and has a range of up to 90 miles.
It is considered one of the most powerful anti-aircraft missile systems and is in the arsenal of three NATO countries: Slovakia, Bulgaria and Greece.
The Slovak prime minister wrote on Facebook on Friday that donating the system did not mean that Slovakia, a NATO country, has become part of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has urged Western allies to send planes, tanks and defense systems to Ukraine, citing S-300s during a passionate video address to Congress last month.
“Russia has made the Ukrainian sky a source of death for thousands of people,” Zelensky told Congress.
“You know what kind of defense systems we need, S-300 and other similar systems.”
NATO countries have begun to ramp up their support for Ukraine by sending more heavy weapons as the Russian invasion continues.
The Czech Republic became the first NATO country to send tanks to Ukraine earlier this week, a Czech defense source told Reuters.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the AP on Thursday that individual NATO countries were planning to increase arms supplies to Ukraine following recent atrocities, but did not provide details.
As an organization, NATO has refused to send weapons or troops to Ukraine that is not a member, but individual countries can choose to act.
The action follows recent reports of the deaths of at least 300 civilians in Bucha and a rocket attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk that killed at least 50 people on Friday.
Zelenskyy warned that the predicted fighting in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, could lead to the biggest war in centuries.
Speaking to the German newspaper BILD, owned by Axel Springer, Insider’s parent company, Zelenskyy predicted fierce fighting in the coming days.
“It could be a big war in Donbas – like the world has not seen in hundreds of years,” he told BILD reporter Paul Ronzheimer.
“We will continue to defend our country to the end,” the Ukrainian president continued.
The chilling forecast mirrors what Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said to NATO members on Thursday.
“The Battle of Donbas will remind you of World War II,” Kuleba said.
He used this warning to immediately call on Western allies to provide more heavy weapons, including air defense systems, artillery, armored vehicles and fighter jets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces are regrouping for another eastern offensive in the Donbas region after failing to take Kiev.
President Joe Biden said on Friday that the US supports Slovakia’s decision to ship the S-300 missile system to Ukraine and the Eastern European country is sending a US-made Patriot missile defense system as a replacement.
“I would like to thank the Slovak government for providing Ukraine with an S-300 air defense system, something President Zelenskyy has personally addressed in our talks,” Biden said.
“Now is not the time for complacency,” Biden said in a statement while accusing the Russian military of committing “horrific atrocities.”
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