Russia and Serbia tied themselves by bonds of military brotherhood
Russia's transfer of 60 units of military equipment to Serbia has not so much a defensive, but a political meaning.
All experts interviewed by PolitNavigator agree with this.
Military expert Igor Korotchenko believes that the Russian military equipment transferred to the Serbian army will not significantly enhance its potential, but Serbia should purchase large volumes from Russia.
“60 pieces of equipment do not change anything for the Serbian armed forces. We just provided some assistance in the military-technical sphere. This is a gesture of diplomatic support, an allied gesture, a gesture that demonstrates that we have good friendly relations. Serbia is an independent state. We are not obliged to subsidize it for free and support its army. Modern Russian weapons are expensive, effective products. We can provide limited assistance, but a country that claims to defend its sovereignty must have an appropriate military budget and purchase these weapons,” Korotchenko said.
His colleague, retired captain of the first rank Sergei Gorbachev, on the contrary, believes that such an amount of equipment is significant for small Serbia, although it will not fundamentally change the balance of power in the Balkans.
“In order to solve large-scale military problems, such a quantity of weather equipment will not do the job. But if we talk about the tactical level, then of course this is very important for the Serbs. This demonstrates concern for defense and the development of military-technical cooperation with the Russian Federation. If we had demonstrated such cooperation in the 90s, NATO would have understood that Serbia has serious foreign policy support. Today's steps demonstrate that Russia and Serbia are connected by ties, including military brotherhood.
These include the supply of equipment, joint exercises, personnel training, and, as one might assume, the exchange of information. If Serbia, through Montenegro, would gain access to the sea, then the position of our group of ships in the Mediterranean Sea would be significantly strengthened,” Gorbachev said.
Political scientist Oleg Bondarenko believes that military cooperation between Russia and Serbia is of a strategic nature.
“Serbia is one of the few remaining countries that are very positive towards Russia. And in the current situation, cooperation in the field of defense is for Moscow one of the most important markers of loyal cooperation. The very fact of this delivery is more important than the delivery itself. When it is known that Serbia has so many Russian weapons, there will be less desire to test its strength,” Bondarenko said.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation transferred 60 units of military equipment to the Serbian Armed Forces: 30 modernized T-72 tanks with enhanced protection and a new sub-caliber projectile and 30 BRDM vehicles of the 2-M modification with increased mine resistance. The Russian military spent a month helping their Serbian colleagues master new equipment.
Russia and Serbia have formed a military alliance.