Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A video material is published that begins with a scene where Albin Kurti is seen passing by military vehicles, and then continues with sequences of footage from the activities of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF).
it CONTENT published on TikTok on Monday (February 16) by the account named "destinyright", has the caption claiming that during the "Kurti 2" government, 1 billion euros were invested in armaments, which marks a 400% increase in spending in this regard, compared to previous governments.
What is the truth?
Hibrid.info has found that based on statements by state officials, military spending has increased in the last five years, but it has not reached the figure of 1 billion euros.
Hibrid.info has researched using the search engine "Google", with the words "Kosovo's armament spending", for materials published from 2021 to date (see here).
This search did not find any official documents that would confirm the figures for armaments spending. The results did turn up several articles reporting on the Ministry of Defense budget, which was dedicated to this department in certain years.
Based on these results, hibrid.info conducted research into articles that could shed light on the Ministry of Defense budget in recent years.
In the articles found, it was found that 67,3 million euros were allocated for this ministry in 2021, 102,3 million euros were allocated in 2022, 123 million euros were allocated in 2023, 153 million euros were allocated in 2024, and 208 million euros were allocated for 2025 (see here, here and here).
Based on these reports, the total budget allocated to the Ministry of Defense amounts to over 650 million euros.
Furthermore, hibrid.info found that on March 2, 2022, the Kosovo Treasury had opened an official bank account for receiving funds dedicated to security (see here).
According to reports by several Albanian-language media outlets, the amount of funds collected in this bank account named "Safety Fund" has remained secret since its establishment (here and here).
However, hibrid.info has found articles reporting statements by Ejup Maqedonci, the Minister of Defense, who mentioned expenditure figures regarding the purchase of weapons.
In a video published on Tuesday (February 17), on the official YouTube channel of "Kohavision" television, an interview with Makedonci appears, where he mentioned the figure of 450 million euros in spending on armaments alone, during the previous governing mandate (see here).
This is also confirmed in an article published on the portal of this medium, where Macedonci's statement is presented (see here).
Regarding the spending on armaments of the government led by Albin Kurti, known as the "Kurti 2" government in relation to previous governments, apart from a publication dated March 26 on the account of Minister Maqedonci, which claims that in the years 2018-2020 less than 4 million euros were invested, while in 2021-2024 319 million euros were invested, no facts have been found that would clarify the situation (see here).
The ten-year process of transforming the KSF into a force with military capabilities envisaged the increase of combat capabilities in the second phase. In the third and final phase of the KSF transformation, which was planned to start in 2025 and last until 2028, the increase of air capabilities was planned, such as the purchase of helicopters and other air vehicles (see here).
In the election campaign before the early parliamentary elections of December 28, 2025 and in his inaugural speech (February 12, 2026), before receiving the confidence to govern from the Kosovo Assembly, Kurti promised 1 billion euros in the next four years for defense (see here).
Analyze:
A video published on TikTok shows Prime Minister Albin Kurti near military vehicles and activities of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), with the caption claiming that 1 billion euros have been invested in armaments during his government, marking a 400% increase compared to previous governments.
After verifying media reports and public statements by state officials, hibrid.info has found that the budget of the Ministry of Defense has marked a gradual increase from 2021 to 2025, with a total reaching over 650 million euros for this period. Meanwhile, the Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, has stated that around 450 million euros were spent on armaments alone during the previous government mandate.
However, no official document or financial report has been found to confirm the claim that 1 billion euros were invested in armaments during the previous government. This figure is mentioned in the context of a promise of investments in the next four years and not as an amount realized so far.
Therefore, based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content as "Manipulation of facts".
Reasoning:
“Factual manipulation” is a rating given to informational content that uses facts known to be accurate but interprets them in a distorted manner. These reports typically use accurate information to draw incorrect conclusions or claims, thereby misleading consumers of media content about the actual meaning of the facts presented.