Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced the arrival of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones to his country when the northern regions faced unrest due to the Serbian refusal to recognize the authorities in Pristina.
In a Facebook post where he shared photos of the drones that arrived in his country, Kurti stated, “Kosovo has become more secure.” He added, “We have added Bayraktar TB2 drones, which we purchased from Turkey to our army’s arsenal during our two-year tenure.”
Kurti further stated, “We have increased the number of soldiers by over 80% and the military budget by over 100%. Kosovo is now more secure.”
The Bayraktar drones have gained popularity worldwide after being used by the Azerbaijani army in its war with Armenia and by the Ukrainian military in its conflict with Russia.
Kosovo, which declared independence 15 years ago, is working on building an army consisting of 5,000 regular soldiers and 3,000 reserve soldiers. Additionally, NATO deploys over 4,500 peacekeeping troops in Kosovo, whose population is 1.8 million.
A crisis erupted in May following the assumption of duties by Albanian mayors after local elections were boycotted by the Serbs, who demanded the implementation of an agreement reached ten years ago that grants them more autonomy.
After the Serbian protests in May, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić put the army on high alert and moved units near the border with Kosovo.
