Serbian Armed Forces

BELGRADE - Twenty-two Serbian Armed Forces servicemen departed for Slovenia on Wednesday to join flood relief efforts in the country.

The servicemen, who come from the Serbian Air Force and the 63rd Parachute Brigade, took off from the Colonel Pilot Milenko Pavlovic Air Base in Batajnica near Belgrade aboard H-145 and Mi-17 helicopters.

The final phase of training of members of the Serbian Armed Forces with newly introduced weapons and military equipment is being held in the Pasuljanska Livada military complex.
President Aleksandar Vui attends the target shooting.
The command for the start was issued by the President and Commander-in-Chief Aleksandar Vui.

The Serbian Army is at the highest level of combat readiness, in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Commander and the President of the Republic, according to the Ministry of Defense.
The army, together with other security forces of the Republic of Serbia, is monitoring the development of the situation on the ground.

"We had a larger number of recruits than people who left the Army. That's why we went with a 25% salary increase," said Vui.
He announced that on Statehood Day, February 15, he will issue an order and announce a competition for admission to the special units of the Serbian Army and that 5,000 people will be accepted.

The exercise is being jointly conducted by Army and Air Force and Air Defence units, 72nd Special Operations Brigade and 63rd Parachute

The Committee for Nurturing the Traditions of the Liberation Wars of Serbia of the Government of Serbia announced that today at 4 p.m., on the occasion of marking the Statehood Day of the Republic of Serbia, a gun salute will be fired from the Sava terrace of the Kalemegdan Fortress, in line with the order issued by the President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces

Low pay, negative selection in promotion, poor working conditions and the lack of training and development are prompting many staff to quit the defence ministry and the military in Serbia, a new report by the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy says.

A Russian diplomat filmed apparently giving money to a Serbian official had a number of "conspiratorial meetings" with Serbian army officials at which cash changed hands, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Thursday, adding that he had asked Russia's envoy to Belgrade one question: "Why?"

According to Minister Vulin, while President Aleksandar Vucic is in charge, Serbia will not join NATO or any other military alliance.

Serbia said on Tuesday it was not considering participating in a mooted peacekeeping mission in Ukraine after a US official said Belgrade was among a number of capitals willing to contribute.