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| Mi-24 military helicopter on the air |
North Macedonia has decided to donate its 12 Mi-24 military helicopters to Ukraine.
Defense Minister Sllavjanka Petrovska said to the media in Skopje that the donation was made at the request of the Ukrainian government, as well as the evaluations of the Macedonian army.
She further emphasized that the donation of these military equipment will not harm North Macedonia's defense capabilities, Euronews reports.
"All the equipment that has been donated so far is related to the request of the Ukrainian authorities, who are capable of using them and maintaining them. According to our modernization plans, these devices are already at the end of their usefulness and will not be part of our armament. If we did not donate them, we are sure that in a short period of time, we would have to dispose of them," said Petrovska.
She said that the Ministry of Defense will purchase at least eight new helicopters for various purposes, which will primarily serve as transport, rather than military purposes.
"When we made plans for the transformation of our army, based on our military capabilities and NATO's plans, the military component of the helicopter unit would no longer be operational, and we would focus on transport helicopters that would primarily fulfill the needs of the army, but of course, they would also be able to perform other tasks that are of wider interest to citizens," said North Macedonia's Defense Minister Sllavjanka Petrovska.