Two discussions, one in Banská Štiavnica, the other in Bratislava – both dedicated to issues related to the ongoing war in Ukraine – were held with the participation of IVO president Grigorij Mesežnikov.
In Banská Štiavnica on February 21, 2026, IVO president debated with security and military analyst, General Pavol Macko, and moderator of the discussion Norbert Kaník, a blogger and activist. The debate in Pražovňa, timed to coincide with the 4th anniversary of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, addressed various – historical political, diplomatic, defence, security and moral – aspects of the war.
The participants in the discussion pointed out that Russia has not managed to achieve a strategic victory in 4 years of full-scale aggression, primarily thanks to the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people and its armed forces, but also thanks to the support of Ukraine's allies in the EU and NATO. They emphasized the need to continue assisting Ukraine, and in this regard, they critically assessed the policy of the current Slovak government headed by Robert Fico, who, with his statements and actions, has de facto sided with Russia.
The policy of the Slovak government towards the Russian-Ukrainian war, including the decisions of the last few days regarding the supply of emergency electricity from Slovakia to Ukraine and the provision of another aid package to Ukraine from the EU, were the topics of discussion in the talk show Večer s Marek Vagovič (Evening with Marek Vagovič) on February 25, 2026.
Milan Kňažko and Jaroslav Naď debated together with the moderator and president of IVO. The speakers unanimously condemned Prime Minister Fico's decision to stop emergency electricity supplies, pointing out the broader context of this decision, which clearly benefits the aggressor, harms the victim of aggression and economically and in terms of security weakens the Slovak Republic itself. The decision of Slovakia, together with Hungary, to block the 90 billion aid package to Ukraine was described by the participants in the discussion as a betrayal - a betrayal of a close ally, the interests of their own country, the principles on which the European Union is built, as well as the values of morality and humanism.
The participants in the discussion touched on the developments associated with the publication of documents from the Jeffrey Epstein case. They pointed out the unique bond that existed between Epstein and the current Russian regime during Epstein lifetime.
