Macedonian Aircrafts Did Not Fly Over the Russian Embassy in Skopje
The Macedonian Air Force, in its ranks, does not have planes that are in running condition, thus they cannot fly. The official website of the Army states that “the unit consists of two aircraft type An-2 and Zlin 143L which are currently inoperable, due to lack of spare parts and airworthiness documentation”
A Facebook post claims that Macedonian Air Force planes were activated over the Russian Embassy in Skopje. This information is incorrect.
MACEDONIAN AVIATION HAS BEEN ACTIVATED TODAY OVER THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN SKOPJE, the post reads.
Five photos of aerplanes in flight have been posted on the Facebook profile. These photos are alleged to show how the Macedonian air force flew over the Russian embassy in Skopje, on Wednesday, one day before Russia officially invaded Ukraine.
The information is incorrect. The data, which shows that this information is incorrect, is that Macedonian aviation does not have aircraft in its ranks at all. Besides, there is no evidence that these photos were really taken now, in Macedonia and just above the Russian Embassy. Planes in the air like this can be photographed anytime, anywhere.
The official website of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia states that the army owns two aircraft, but they are out of use:
The unit consists of two aircraft type An-2 and Zlin 143L which are currently inoperable, due to lack of spare parts and airworthiness documentation.
On the same page, there is a photo gallery of the planes, where it can be seen that the Macedonian planes are white and blue. According to the photos posted on the social network Facebook, the planes are red and white. Such planes are not owned by the Macedonian army, which means that they are not part of Macedonian aviation.
The aircrafts used by the army, that are in good condition, are only helicopters, MI-17 and MI-8.
The only state-owned fighter jets are the four Sukhoi SU-25 fighter jets that the Macedonian Army procured from Ukraine in June 2001, during the armed conflict. In the spring of 2003, Macedonia declared that there was no longer a need for fighter jets in the ARM formation, and in 2004 the planes were grounded and canned. The following year, the Ministry of Defense formally wrote off the aircraft from the records of the ARM equipment and armament.
Hence, we conclude that the post we are reviewing is untrue, and it, completely unnecessarily, aims to cause additional fear among the population.
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