SKOPJE, NORTH MACEDONIA — In August of last year, BulgarianMilitary.com reported that North Macedonia had given its Su-25 Grachs fighter jets to Ukraine. These are the same fighters that Skopje acquired from Kyiv in 2001. It is about four North Macedonian Su-25 Grachs.
- Entire Slovak MiG-29 fleet gifted to Ukraine, Bulgarian Su-25s in parts
- North Macedonia buys 54 Stryker armored vehicles for $210M
- N Macedonia gets MUSON surveillance system: 20+km range, 4×4, 360° turn
On March 14, 2023, the Minister of Defense of North Macedonia, Mrs. Slavyanka Petrovska, officially confirmed the news, which BulgarianMilitary.com knew about last year. Skopje kept silent for a long time about making such a donation, and as early as August 2022, the North Macedonians neither denied nor confirmed our information.
In his March 14th statement, the North Macedonian Defense Minister announced that Kyiv has so far received Sukhoi aircraft from Skopje. Without specifying the model, North Macedonia only had the Su-25 at that time. BulgarianMilitary.com knew as early as 2022 that the North Macedonian fighter jets were unfit for flight.
If the suspicions that the North Macedonian Su-25 fighters were not able to fly, then most likely the Ukrainian armed forces used them as spare parts for their Su-25 fighters.
In addition to Sukhoi planes, according to Ms. Petrovska, Skopje also sent military aid to Kyiv. Artillery weapons, infantry weapons, main battle tanks, anti-armor and anti-aircraft weapon systems, as well as equipment and ammunition for use by military aviation have been sent by the Balkan country.
The first news about donated Su-25s arrived at the beginning of July last year. Then, according to claims in the Spanish press, Bulgaria donated its Su-25s to Ukraine. Later that year, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense denied such information. Now it turns out that this is what North Macedonia did.
The news came from Washington when in an official statement the Pentagon spokesman said in April of the same year that Ukraine already “has more fixed-wing fighters now than they did two weeks ago.” The fact that the country’s fleet [Ukraine – ed.] has increased, he said, “is not a coincidence, because other nations that have experience with this type of aircraft have been able to help them launch more aircraft.”
Even then, the Pentagon officially kept silent about the supplier of the Su-25, as it was besieged by a hostile reaction from the donor country.
More military aid from North Macedonia
Rumors in North Macedonia today are that Skopje may part with its 12 Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters. Rumor has it that they will again be donated to Ukraine. There is no official confirmation from the North Macedonian government of such a donation at this stage.
However, North Macedonia has announced that it intends to supply Ukraine with more military equipment. In the form of military aid, Skopje has already decided what to deliver to the cabinet meeting on March 14. There is a possibility that these are weapon systems and ammunition that have gone out of service and are not part of the inventory of the army of North Macedonia. According to Minister Petrovska, “the donations made so far are not part of the formation of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia [ARSM].”
***
Follow us everywhere and at any time. BulgarianMilitary.com has responsive design and you can open the page from any computer, mobile devices or web browsers. For more up-to-date news, follow our Google News, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages. Read our stories in News360App in AppStore or GooglePlay or in FeedlyApp in AppStore or GooglePlay. Our standards: Manifesto & ethical princliples.