Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) has published an article claiming that unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) have flown near Serbian army barracks, located at several points near the border with Kosovo.
Serbian state television bases this claim on unofficial sources, but also on high-level political statements in Serbia.
Senior Serbian political officials from Belgrade made several claims about the presence of drones near Serbian military posts, around the border with Kosovo, which were published as such by Radio Television of Serbia (RTS).
The claim, unfounded by facts, about the presence of drones was initiated by President Aleksandar Vučić, followed by Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, and recently joined by Defense Minister Miloš Vučević.
However, the description of the event regarding the presence of these drones near the Serbian military barracks, reportedly near the Merdara and Jarinja border points (near Raška), is different for all three of these senior political officials.
Vučić, as the first to make this claim, ordered the Army to deploy fighter jets to "destroy any enemy unmanned aircraft," but without providing details about their presence or clarifying who is defined as "the enemy" in this case.
The claim made by RTS and the statement of Aleksandar Vučić:
In the area of Merdar and near Raska, unknown drones have been spotted observing the barracks and positions of the Serbian Army, it has been unofficially confirmed to RTS. The President of Serbia and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, has ordered the immediate destruction of all enemy drones in the territory of central Serbia. (here)
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, invited to the "Takovska 10" show on RTS, linked this alleged presence of drones to recent developments in Kosovo, specifically the government's decision on license plates. However, she did not definitively say that the drones launched came from Kosovo.
Ana Brnabić's statement on RTS:
Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, invited to the "Takovska 10" show on RTS, said that all drones registered near military facilities and positions will be shot down, which is what any other country would do. She added that the drones seen today were filming a position in our Ground Security Zone and two barracks. We are far from reaching a solution for Kosovo and Metohija, because Pristina is not ready for talks, emphasizes Brnabić. (here)
Defense Minister Miloš Vučević also made almost the same claim. However, in his statement, Vučević does not claim with certainty who the drones belong to, but says that they came from the territory of Kosovo.
Excerpts from articles published on "Rts.rs":
Defense Minister Miloš Vučević said, in an invited appearance on RTS's Dnevnik, that the Serbian Armed Forces are monitoring certain objects, unmanned aerial vehicles or drones that move along the administrative division line of central Serbia, in the Ground Security Zone and occasionally enter the territory of central Serbia. Vučević told RTS that he could not say whose drones they were, but that they came from the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. (here)
The RTS article with this claim is not made up of argumentative facts, except for the statements of these Serbian politicians and some, as it is said, unofficial sources.
Like RTS, the politicians do not present images of these hands in their claims, which would be proof of their presence. They also do not provide details about what kind of flying objects they are talking about or other specifics.
Furthermore, the claims of the Serbian media and officials have been denied by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kosovo, Armend Mehaj. In a post on social networks, he rejected the claims of the Serbian authorities, claiming that they aim to create a “pretext for increasing the number of Serbian army troops around the border with the Republic of Kosovo, as a means of spreading a state of panic among the citizens of both states.” (here)
"Regarding the statement by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, about the alleged movement of unknown drones from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo over the settlement of Raška, we inform citizens that these claims are completely untrue, and any such discourse is only a pretext for increasing the number of Serbian army troops around the border with the Republic of Kosovo, as a means of spreading a state of panic among the citizens of both states."
Analyze:
Serbian state television "RTS" has published articles unofficially reporting that "some drones have been observing the Serbian army near several border points with Kosovo." Serbian President Vučić, who gave the Army a readiness order regarding "enemy drones," denied the unfounded claims made by the Serbian public television.
However, in addition to not presenting facts proving the presence of these drones, the three Serbian political and institutional leaders give different versions of the events. Vučić calls them "enemy drones", but without defining who he is addressing with this term, Brnabić links this to the events in Kosovo, but without saying who launched those vehicles, while Vučević says that these drones came from Kosovo, but it is not known whose they are.
The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Kosovo, Armend Mehaj, has reacted to the claims of the media and officials, denying the claims about the alleged movement of unknown drones from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo over the settlement of Raška.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info considers the above-mentioned claims to be "unverified content" and "misinformation".
Reasoning:
The “Unverified” rating is given to those media reports that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which have not been able to confirm the same due to the lack or non-possession of reliable sources.
A “Disinformation” rating is given to media reporting that contains a “mix” of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful content. This rating will also address reports that have incorrect attributions or headlines that do not reflect the text in terms of information accuracy.