The order was given after unidentified UAVs were detected in the sky near the town of Raska spying over Serbian Army garison. President Vucic ordered his military to immediately shoot down all enemy drones sighted in central Serbian airspace.
Aleksandar Vucic the President of Serbia and the supreme commander of the armed forces, today, Tuesday, November 1, issued an official order that all enemy drones in the territory of central Serbia be destroyed immediately.
As reported by Novosti, the president decided to take this step after an incident that occurred in the area above the village of Merdar, which is located in the municipality of Kursumlija, in the vicinity of Raska.
It was alleged by Serbia that a number of unidentified drones flew over and observed the barracks and positions of the Serbian Armed Forces located in that area.
In order to prevent further enemy activities, Serbian ‘migovi 29’ were deployed to monitor the airspace and detect any possible attack from enemy aircraft.
Shortly after, the sighted objects left the airspace of central Serbia, but if they had not done so, they would have been destroyed because the commander-in-chief issued an order to act immediately with anti-aircraft weapons.
“The President of the Republic, as the supreme commander in chief, gave the order to the Serbian army to be ready, to increase the level of combat readiness in order to be ready to respond to any task”, Vucevich said, as quoted by TASS.
According to the Minister of Defence, no one wants to fight, but the Serbian army is “ready to perform any task”.
Serbia puts military on high alert over the illegal state of Kosovo
Belgrade’s peaceful stance doesn’t mean that it’s weak and can be harassed, the defense minister said. Serbia has put its military on high alert over the situation in Kosovo, the country’s defense minister Milos Vucevic has said.
Belgrade put its military on high alert on Tuesday as the breakaway region of Kosovo began implementing a plan to ban Serbian license plates, the country’s defense minister, Milos Vucevic, announced.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who is also the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, has ordered the military “to increase the level of combat readiness to be prepared to respond to any task,” Vucevic said in an interview with the broadcaster Happy TV.
“Serbia talking about peace and stability doesn’t mean that we’re weak, that we can be harassed and humiliated,” he pointed out, apparently addressing Kosovo’s leadership.
The country’s military, which is “many times stronger than it used to be,” remains fully committed to protecting all citizens of Serbia, including Serbs in Kosovo, the minister warned. “No one should doubt that,” he added.
However, Vucevic stressed that Belgrade wasn’t looking for conflict, saying that “it’s better to negotiate for a thousand days, than spend one day in the trenches.”
The situation in northern Kosovo where many Serbs reside has been tense. The local authorities began implementing their restrictions earlier in the day and issued the first warnings to vehicle owners with Serbian plates, he said.
According to Pristina’s plan, warnings will first be issued, followed by penalties of €150 (around $149). After a transition period ends in April 2023, drivers who failed to switch from Serbian to Kosovar license plates will have their cars seized.
The ban was initially slated to go into force on August 1, but it was postponed after Serbs in northern Kosovo set up roadblocks in preparation to resist the heavily armed special police that Pristina had deployed to the area.
Since then, the sides have been unable to find a way to resolve the deadlock. Last week, Vucic warned that attempts by Kosovo to restrict the movement of cars with Serbian license plates would “surely meet the democratic resistance of the Serbian people, and the state of Serbia will not allow the persecution and killing of its people.”
The US and many of its allies recognized the mainly Albanian-populated Kosovo as a sovereign state in 2008, but Serbia still considers the province a part of its territory. Belgrade is backed in this by others, including Russia and China, which do not recognize the territory as an independent entity, RT reports.