Macedonia - one of the few countries that donates air and land defense equipment to Ukraine

Photo Collage of the WC - Part of the Macedonian donation of military equipment to Ukraine.

Macedonian military aid to Ukraine does not seem to stop. Our country is one of the few countries that so far has not stopped donating combat systems and combat equipment to the fronts of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The latest stage of Macedonian military aid to Kiev is in the form of 12 Soviet-made Mi-24 helicopters, and on several occasions before, our country has sent its 4 Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jets and an unknown number of T-72 tanks.

According to the information shared by the Ministry of Defense, the estimated value of the military aid sent to Ukraine so far, excluding the 12 helicopters, is about 30 million euros. and the decision on the new donation will be considered already tomorrow at a government session on the proposal of the Minister of Defense Slavjanka Petrovska. She stated in an interview with the domestic media that the analysis of the General Staff on whether the country can donate the Mi-24 helicopters has been completed and that at the next government session a proposal will be submitted for making a decision by which Macedonia will donate 12 helicopters to Ukraine. Petrovska has emphasized several times so far that such a decision will not affect the combat readiness of the Army.

In the meantime, the consulted security experts comment that the military aid is welcome for Ukraine and this can be understood mostly from the Macedonian side because we also had our own unfortunate events during the conflict in 2001 when our combat forces faced a lack of combat technology and equipment. 

The retired colonel in the ARM and president of the Balkan Security Forum Blagoja Markovski for "Free Press" says that all the equipment and armaments that have been donated to Ukraine so far were equipment that was not in a functional condition for the army or weapons that had expired. According to Markovski, sNATO members are oriented towards Western weapons and the standards imposed by the Alliance, so the release of Soviet weapons from their warehouses is welcome.

Doctor of Military-Political Sciences Blagoja Markovski

- It should be noted that this time combat helicopters are being donated "Mi-24" which within the development of аthe army as a member of NATO does not have its own function and role. Hence, the minister is right that combat readiness will not be impaired, because some of them helicopters for two or three years they run out its resource for flight and will not be in airworthy condition. That practically knowчand that Macedonia will have to recognize them in two yearsеmji a for that one transition, a transitional solution should be found according to the documents and the plans for the development of аthe rmia that will create the conditions for a response as for the internal needs of the rejected one as well as in Контекст of NATO allied actions – Markovski clarifies.

Metodi Hadji Janev - professor / Photo: Free Press - Dragan Mitreski

These are part of the thoughts of the university professor of security sciences Methods Hadzi Janev. According to Hadji Janev, there are political, economic and operational reasons for the decision to donate the helicopters.

- As a NATO member, we have a side in that conflict and this decision is in line with NATO's commitments but also with the latest statement by NATO Secretary General Stottelberg that NATO will continue to help Ukraine as long as it is needed. Second, economically, it is extremely difficult to maintain a resource that has been depleted. Don't forget that we had an accident for which, in addition to the rest, there were indications (I don't claim that this is the case) due to inadequate maintenance or worn out resources and which cost us human lives, and that was on a combat mission - points out Hadji Janev.

The professor explains that for the country, an additional problem for these aircraft was their servicing and maintenance, because Russia, the country where the helicopters come from, took away the licenses of all companies in the former Eastern bloc where they could be serviced.

- As a NATO member, the operational justification of these helicopters is an obligation that is a two-way street for Macedonia. Namely, the country is in principle the overall winner, in terms of what we give and in terms of what we receive. Why is this so, because according to the goals of capabilities, and on the basis of which, among other things, the long-term plan for the development of the army was made, several factors were taken into account, here I am talking about economic and human, threats, potential cooperation with NATO member countries in the scope of NATO smart defense, interoperability, etc. In that context, I want to clarify that the state is planning how the defense will be built in the future. Therefore, the real question at this moment is how soon we will be ready to build that capacity, that is, acquire new helicopters in order to supplement the rest of the defense capacities in order to obtain a multiplication of efforts. That is why it should be emphasized here that this capacity that we are now losing with the donation of these weapons must be replaced or filled accordingly - concludes Hadji Janev.

In the meantime, regarding the financial implications, Minister Petrovska emphasized that the estimate of the value of the donations, without the possible donation of helicopters, amounts to about 30 million euros, but that in just less than a year, Macedonia was supported by the United States with 139 million dollars, intended for purchase of new, most sophisticated equipment. Regarding the plans for the supply of new helicopters, the minister also informed that the detailed evaluation of the five received offers for the purchase of Western multi-purpose helicopters and the analysis of whether they are in accordance with our requirements and needs is in the final stage. She clarified that it is a multi-year purchase of eight multi-purpose helicopters.

Action of the Mi-24 helicopter with the main multi-barrel Yak-B 12.7mm machine gun / PHOTO, Forum, defense

On the other hand, Russia considers that the decision of the Macedonian authorities to donate T-72 tanks to Ukraine is a big mistake, as the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said. The Macedonian MFA and the Ministry of Defense reacted to Zakharova's statement these days, noting that Macedonia is a sovereign state and can decide for itself what it will do.

PHOTO GALLERY | Three years since Macedonian membership in NATO

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