Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vučić issued an order Tuesday for Serbian forces to shoot down foreign drones entering the country’s airspace.
According to unconfirmed reports by the Serbian pro-government daily Večernje Novosti, the order was issued after two drones were detected near the town of Raska, close to the Kosovo border, where tensions flared over the summer.
The drones were allegedly monitoring Serbian army bases in the region, but left the country’s airspace after Serbian fighter jets were scrambled in response. POLITICO could not verify the report independently.
The incident took place amid escalating tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, after Pristina ordered that ethnic Serb residents should replace their Serbian car plates with Kosovo-issued ones by October 31. EU and U.S. officials have been working to bridge differences between Belgrade and Pristina.
According to Serbia’s defense ministry, Vučić inspected military garrisons in Raska on Tuesday, saying that “the Serbian Army is ready to cope with any task.” The Serbian Armed Forces have been put on high combat alert.
