"We know whose drones they are, too, and what their mission was": Vucic at the "Manevri 2022" military drill

Printscreen: Tanjug

Members of Serbian Army (VS) Third Brigade of the Land Army and reserve forces are practicing the use of various weapons and combat equipment and shooting from the ground today at the Pasuljanske Livade military training ranges, as part of the joint exercise of dubbed, "Manevri 2022" ("Maneuvers 2022").

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The drill was attended by President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Army Aleksandar Vucic.

The president was met at the training ground by Minister of Defense Milos Vucevic and Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army Milan Mojsilovic, and a report was delivered to him by Captain Ilija Joksimovic.

While touring the complex, the president asked which brigade was better, the 3rd or the 4th, to which he received the reply told that both were good.

"This is what sustains and protects our Army. The best (soldiers come) from the south, southeast and southwest, soldiers from the south guard Belgrade and Novi Sad," said the president.

President Vucic also touched on the downing of a drone, which happened yesterday near Raska.

"Some people's mindset is that from 20 and 30 years ago, Serbia is much stronger, not to think we are that strong we could grapple with the greatest powers, but we are much stronger than we used to be. Our priority task is to preserve the peace. It wasn't the first time yesterday that we noticed the aircraft above the barracks. Then when we warned them, you immediately see this togetherness against Serbia," said Vucic.

"It started with, 'who are we in conflict with', no one, but do you want someone to spy on our Army? They weren't there to collect trading cards. They use commercial drones because they think that this way the owner will not be found out. It's a kind of aggression against a sovereign country. We also know whose drones those are and what their mission was, but let us now pretend to be naive for a while," said the president.

He also said that NATO drones were "circling around" Brnjak and Jarinje (administrative crossings between central Serbia and Kosovo) all day yesterday.

"We were paying attention, they were 200, 500 meters from the administrative line, on the other side. NATO respects all procedures, but we have seen them, too, however we have no right to destroy them according to UN Resolution 1244 and the Kumanovo Agreement. But they were not there to collect trading cards or play marbles, but for different reasons," said Vucic.

The problem, according to him, is when someone comes to Raska or Novi Pazar (in central Serbia), adding that commercial drones are used, because those who use them think that the owner will not be identified, because if they were not commercial, we would establish who they belong to based on military elements.

"It's the same like with the sabotage against Nord Stream in the Baltic... It seems to me that everyone knows, that the whole world knows everything about it, but everyone pretends to be naive. Let us also pretend to be a little naive," said Vucic.

As part of the exercise of the 31st Infantry Battalion, which trains reserve units, a demonstration of Lazar armored vehicles, long-range rifles, automatic grenade launchers, MRAPs - armored infantry vehicles, a demonstration of firing from machine guns mounted on tanks, self-propelled howitzers, and mortars will all be shown.

The Serbian Army has been conducting the joint exercise "Manevri 2022" from October 18, and for three weeks, i.e. until November 6, members of active and reserve forces are jointly underging various forms of training.

Checking the condition of the force is carried out in the airspace and on inland waterways, with the engagement of the operational capacities of the land and aviation components of the Serbian military.

The goal of the exercise is to further improve command and unit ability in planning and executing operations, preventive deployment of forces, organizing collaboration and cooperation, and life and work in field conditions.

In the preparatory phase of the exercise, commands and units carried out tasks at their home bases, standard operating procedures were checked and personnel from the reserve was accepted, who, upon arrival in their units, underwent training to renew the knowledge acquired during military service.

For the final phase, tactical drills, tactical exercises and shooting with different types of weapons are planned.

The Serbian Army previously announced that the joint exercise with participation of units of various types, and if necessary, other forces of the defense system, represent an irreplaceable form of training, as well as that their realization achieves a high level of competence of commands and units to cooperate in carrying out tasks, which is of key importance for the overall combat readiness of the Serbian Army.

(Telegraf.rs)