The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, presented on Wednesday a Russian system for protection against drones, called Repellent, which Serbia bought some time ago from its ally, Russia.

This system is intended to prevent the control of drones and covers an area of ​​30 kilometers, it was said during the display of weapons and military equipment in the southern Serbian city of Nis, during a Serbian national holiday.

In the end of January, Vučić warned of the introduction of such an anti-drone system, but he did not say when exactly Serbia received the new system, except to add that “Serbia paid for it a long time ago”.

On February 14, during the weapons show in Nis, the Serbian leader warned of additional investments in equipment for the Serbian Armed Forces, especially in artillery.

He said that 300 million euros are being invested in the products of the local industry.

Vučić also announced that additional CH-95 drones will be purchased from China, Beta news agency reported.

Due to cooperation with Russia and China in the field of defense, Serbia, as a candidate for membership in the European Union (EU), has been constantly criticized by Brussels.

It has continuously bought military equipment and weapons from Russia since 2016.

However, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, no new contracts for the procurement of weapons have been concluded. Vučić stated in mid-September 2022 that some of the previous shipments had not arrived due to the war in Ukraine.

Among those earlier shipments, the anti-drone system, Repellent, was also mentioned at the time.

Due to the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is under sanctions from the European Union, the United States of America and other Western countries. Serbia refuses to respect these sanctions.