National Day in Slovakia. With the participation of the Russian ambassador and Polish F-16s

The Slovak National Uprising, which broke out 80 years ago, was aimed at the Third Reich and the regime of the Slovak State, established by Hitler's will. Politicians in their speeches emphasized the significance of the uprising for the later fate of the country and the creation of the Slovak Republic in 1993.

President Peter Pellegrini called on contemporary elites to overcome their differences of opinion. He said they should follow the example of politicians from 1944 who were able to reach an agreement to achieve a main goal.

For Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the uprising was his first public appearance in an open space since the attempted coup in May of this year. In his opinion, the main message of the uprising was to end the war and establish peace. “It ended the time of passivity of the Slovak nation,” he emphasized.

The ceremony and wreath-laying in Banská Bystrica were attended by former presidents Slovakia Rudolf Schuster, Ivan Gaszparowicz and Andrej Kiszka. Pellegrini's predecessor Zuzana Czaputova was absent, as according to the media she did not receive an invitation, and she commemorated the anniversary by attending the site of the insurgents' fight in the High Tatras.

The ceremony was attended by the ambassador Russiawhose presence was criticized by opposition politicians. They considered it a provocation and an attempt to legitimize Russian aggression against Ukraine by the ruling coalition in Slovakia. However, no presidents or prime ministers from neighbouring countries came to Banská Bystrica. There were also no politicians representing other European Union or NATO countries.

Symbolic representation of NATO countries appeared during a two-hour military parade. Among the banner guards of forces stationed in Slovakia as part of securing NATO's Eastern Flank, soldiers of the Polish Army marched, and Polish F-16s appeared in the sky, which guard Slovak airspace together with pilots from Czech and Hungarian.

For Slovaks, the anniversary of the outbreak of the uprising on August 29, 1944 is a national holiday, and the uprising itself is one of the most important events in the contemporary history of Slovakia. The armed resistance against the German occupation and the country's regime collaborating with the Third Reich ended in defeat after two months, but the insurgents managed to tie up some of the German forces that could not be deployed on the Eastern Front for quite a long time.