A Macedonian Air Force Mi-24V taking off for a training sortie on 6 August 2012. Photo by Wikimedia user (Dcvetic).
A proposal to send 12 Soviet-made Mi-24 attack helicopters to Ukraine will be submitted for approval during the next session of the North Macedonian government, the country’s Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska announced on March 25, according to the local media outlet Nezavisen.
Petrovska said that the decision will not affect the combat readiness of the North Macedonian military since the “equipment is already at the end of its use, according to our modernization plans,” as quoted by the media.
“All the equipment that has been donated so far has to do with the request of the Ukrainian authorities, who are able to use them, but also to maintain them,” the minister added.
The minister revealed that Northern Macedonia, who became a full member of NATO in 2020, will purchase eight new Western-made helicopters to replace the Mi-24s.
The Northern Macedonia military received the Mi-24 helicopters from Ukraine during the conflict with the Albanian National Liberation Army militant group in 2001.
Ten of the helicopters are of the Mi-24V version which can be armed with 9M114 Shturm anti-tank guided missiles in addition to unguided rockets, bombs and machine guns. The other two are of the Mi-24K reconnaissance and artillery observation version.
A few months after the beginning of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine last year, Northern Macedonia supplied its only four Su-25 close air support fighters jets to Kiev forces. Just like the Mi-24s, the fighter jets were purchased from Ukraine during the 2001 conflict.
Without the possible donation of 12 Mi-24 helicopters, Northern Macedonia’s military support to Ukraine will top €30 million.
NATO has been working to rebuild the aerial capabilities of Ukraine for the last few months. Very recently, the Ukrainian Air Force received four Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets from Slovakia. More will be delivered by Slovakia as well as Poland in the near future.
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The brilliance or arrogance of depleting the NATO puppets of their old military equipment as donation to help Ukraine and then for all of them to upgrade their arsenal with NEW US made junk that won’t be delivered for years to come but the contract will be held !! WOOOW !! MILITARY ECONOMY !!
You see, the dying continues because of some extremely greedy assholes in Washington. A true pro-Ukrainian would call for immediate capitulation of the army and negotiations. That’s the best for Ukraine. Every day of senseless resistance damages Ukraine further. Anyone calling for counteroffensives is guilty of genocide. Any troll spreading fakes to encourage more killings is guilty of genocide too. Any CNN and other similar fake news pseudo-journalist is guilty of genocide too.
Friends may come and go but enemies are forever.
flying coffin, who wants to be the lucky pilot?
nordmazedonien kann seine gesamte versoffene armee schicken, wird nix ändern
Die mordmazedonischen Dorftrottel sind nicht zu unterschätzen.
Nice to see old Russian weapons in regular use. The older it is, the better it is. Like wine. That is why Russia is already sending t-34 to the battlefield.
Good lil ni^^ers , anything to please their master.
Another pile of junk at the end of its life