The Defense Minister of North Macedonia, Slavjanka Petrovska, announced that the Macedonian government will propose to transfer 12 Mi-24 helicopters to Ukraine. She made the statement during an interview on Alsat TV, which was quoted by Nezavisen.
Petrovska noted that the General Staff of North Macedonia had completed an analysis of whether the country could provide Mi-24 helicopters to Ukraine. She said that the proposal for the transfer would be brought to the government on Wednesday. She emphasized that the decision would not affect the combat readiness of the North Macedonian army.
“All the equipment that has been transferred so far, besides the fact that it was at the request of the Ukrainians, they needed it, and it is equipment that the Ukrainian army uses skillfully. This is equipment whose period of exploitation ends according to our plans,” said Petrovska.
In addition, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense will purchase new multipurpose helicopters, possibly eight units. According to Defense24, out of the 12 Mi-24 attack helicopters and four Mi-8/17 multipurpose helicopters currently in the country, only two machines of each type are being used today.
The four operational helicopters, along with four Mi-24Vs, were modernized over the past decade in collaboration with the Israeli company Elbit Systems. They have been adapted to work with NATO forces and equipped with avionics that allow the use of night vision goggles (NVG) and the Aviators Head-Up Display (ANVIS/HUD) night vision system.
Last year, North Macedonia transferred four Su-25 attack aircraft to Ukraine, which it bought from Kyiv during the conflict in 2001. North Macedonia has also transferred Soviet T-72 tanks to Ukraine, which it planned to remove from its arsenal in the coming years
