Slovakia recorded suspicious activities near critical infrastructure last year

Bratislava, 22 May (CTK) - Slovakia recorded suspicious activities last year by people from Russian-speaking groups, suggesting they were gathering information about the country's critical infrastructure. It also recorded the formation of criminal gangs whose members had experience in the ongoing war in Ukraine. The Slovak government office said this in a report on Slovakia's security in 2024. According to the government, police are investigating several reports concerning threats to important infrastructure in the country.

According to earlier information from the army, Slovakia deployed more than a thousand soldiers to protect oil and gas pipelines and other important facilities. Bratislava said there was a medium risk of damage to the country's critical infrastructure, although an analysis was unable to determine last year why the group had been monitoring it. The investigation focused on whether the aim was to damage the facilities and on the possible consequences of such an act.

The country's security council discussed the matter last year, and Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok later spoke of possible preparations for an attack aimed at destroying or disabling an important energy facility, specifically an oil or gas pipeline. In this connection, Slovakia deported two people to Hungary and Ukraine, according to the minister. One detained Ukrainian, according to Slovak media, described the case as a misunderstanding and said the police ultimately did not charge him.

The Slovak government office described the activities of foreign-language criminal groups targeting violent and economic crime in the country as a security threat to Slovakia. According to the report, members of these groups were often people with experience of the war in Ukraine, which has been defending itself against the Russian invasion since February 2022. In addition, Slovakia recorded an increased threat of weapons and hazardous materials being smuggled from the war zone.

Last year, Slovakia faced a rise in email threats of bomb attacks against public institutions and threats of shootings, for example at schools. Slovak authorities described a bomb threat against Bratislava's international airport as serious. The airport premises were evacuated last year because of the threat. Slovak courts reported 201 cases involving reports of an explosive device being planted, but none of the threats was confirmed.