North Macedonia currently has a military budget of $388.3 million, with a third of that going to purchasing weapons and equipment
North Macedonia is a staunch ally of Ukraine — one that Ukrainians often forget about, if they even know about it. After the full-scale Russian invasion, this small Balkan country provided Ukraine with all its tanks and all its Su-25 attack aircraft. But this was not done recklessly: Macedonia is building a new type of army that does not rely on heavy equipment, but on operational flexibility, Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News (UNIAN) writes.
As the military analysis portal Defense Express writes, the Macedonian army will be organized around armored vehicles supported by drones. With a limited budget, Macedonia plans to cooperate with the UK, the US, Montenegro and Slovenia — all NATO members.
Specifically, the N. Macedonian Armed Forces plan to purchase more JLTV 4×4 armored vehicles and Stryker 8×8 wheeled armored personnel carriers, which will be supplemented with various drone systems. Short-range air defense will be provided by Mistral portable anti-aircraft missile systems and medium-range air defense systems.
Military analysts note that this approach of N. Macedonia to the formation of its army explains why the provision of all 31 of its T-72 tanks to Ukraine was not an irreparable loss for the country.
“Building mechanized forces around wheeled mobile platforms with drones sounds like a modern army that seeks to optimize its limited budget for maximum efficiency in modern warfare,” writes Defense Express.
Currently, North Macedonia’s military budget is $388.3 million, a third of which will go to the purchase of weapons and equipment. That is, this is a rather limited financial resource that the country must allocate wisely.
“Overall, we see that even with small financial resources you can adapt to today’s realities. This can be a valuable lesson for Ukraine, which does not have the strongest economy and is forced to set priorities,” the analysts add.
How Ukraine and Macedonia became the most loyal allies
Ukraine and North Macedonia have a long history of mutual military support, which began a quarter of a century ago.
In 2001, during the internal armed conflict in North Macedonia, Ukraine provided significant military assistance to the government in Skopje – including Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters, Su-25 aircraft, as well as T-72 tanks. These supplies were crucial for strengthening the defense capabilities of the Macedonian army against the backdrop of threats from Albanian armed formations.
After the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine in 2022, North Macedonia became one of the few Balkan countries to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Skopje returned some of the same equipment that it had once received from Kiev: in 2022–2023, T-72 tanks, Su-25 attack aircraft and Mi-24 attack helicopters were provided. In addition to the equipment, the country also provided ammunition and small arms, and Ukrainian military personnel participated in exercises on N. Macedonian territory.
The North Macedonians openly admitted that their assistance to Ukraine today is gratitude for the Ukrainian weapons provided a quarter of a century ago. At that time, N. Macedonia faced a de facto international arms embargo in conditions in which separatists were trying to tear off a significant part of its territory. It was Ukraine that saved the territorial integrity of this Balkan state.
If we take into account the value of the military equipment that Skopje handed over to Kiev in 2022 and the size of the population in N. Macedonia, it turns out that the country is one of the largest donors of military aid to Ukraine, proportional to its population.
Illustrative Photo by Nuh Erkan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/jet-fighter-flying-in-clear-blue-sky-32910597/
