Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
It was claimed that Kosovo will receive two helicopters as a donation from the United States of America in 2026.
The material with this claim was published as a video on TikTok by the account "albinkurti_rks" dated June 2.
What is the truth about this claim?
After fact-checking conducted by hibrid.info, it was determined that this claim is incorrect.
The video material contains audio from "Teve1" television, which contains a statement by the Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, who stated that in 2026 the Kosovo Security Force is expected to be supplied with helicopters.
But, at no point was it mentioned that Kosovo would receive two helicopters as a donation from the US.
Link to the video material published on TikTok by the account "albinkurti_rks":
This video was also published on Facebook by the page "KSF Kosovo Security Force". (see here)
What did hibrid.info find?
After research conducted by hibrid.info, it was found that the material was published on June 2 by "Teve1" television, which also contains the statement of Minister Maqedonci.
What did the Macedonian say?
"After 2025, we will move to the third phase, which means building military support capacities, including air capacities. As has been said several times, helicopters are part of the planned inventory of the Kosovo Security Force, so the KSF will have helicopters available for transport, combat support, and search and rescue operations and medical evacuation," said the Macedonian to "Teve1". (see here)
So, in no case has the minister stated that the US will donate two helicopters to Kosovo in 2026, as falsely claimed in the video footage posted on TikTok by the account "albinkurti_rks".
Analyze:
The claim that in 2026 Kosovo will receive a donation of two helicopters from the US is false.
In the statement of Minister Makedonci, which was used in this video material, no such thing was mentioned.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this claim as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.