RIA.- Serbian Defence Secretary Alexander Vulin and the Commander of the Armed Forces of the country have examined the 56 UAZ Patriot vehicles procured from Russia in 2020, as told by the Serbian Ministry of Defence to RIA Novosti.
Vulin attended the presentation of the 56 newly acquired SUVs at Utva military factory in the city of Panchevo near Belgrade with the Chief of Defence General Moisilovic during the day. The Defence Secretary met the Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko last Thursday. During the meeting the minister and the ambassador have confirmed that the relations between Moscow and Belgrade are at the highest level historically and emphasised the importance of the continuation of the military-technical cooperation.
“The vehicles have been purchased from the Russian manufacturer in 2020” – as stated by the Ministry of Defence. The worth of the contract has not been disclosed and there are plans to obtain eight more UAZ Patriot SUVs until October.
According to the ministry data, the Serbian army made a similar purchase in 2006 for the last time. The SUVs are designed for military police units, the protection of foreign delegations, control over military convoys, transport intelligence, operational forensic work and assistance to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Serbia is the biggest importer of Russian weapons and military equipment in Europe. The country has previously bought seven Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters, as well as six MiG-29 fighters and 10 BRDM-2MS armoured personnel carriers as gifts from Russia.
