Vulin: Army Carries Out All Orders in Fight Against Coronavirus

Aleksandar Vulin (Beta/Defence Ministry/Duska Stefanovic)

Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on April 17 that since the declaration of a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Serbian Armed Forces had taken over security of some 150 social welfare institutions, more than 120 different medical facilities and 20 migrant camps.

Saying that members of the army are helping the police secure all border crossings and that they have set up and are securing makeshift hospitals, the minister highlighted as a special success the fact that over the course of 10 days "one of the best COVID hospitals" had been organized at the Karaburma Military Medical Center in Belgrade, while another one had been set up within 15 days in the same city district, which, as he announced, will open in a few days.

"Members of the Serbian Armed Forces have carried out all orders in the fight against the virus and not for a single moment did we allow our combat readiness to be diminished," Vulin told the Easter four-day edition of daily Kurir.
 
He said that the aid from Russia, China and many other countries "cannot be forgotten," but also asked, "How many dead would there be in Serbia had we depended on the import of medical equipment from the European Union?"
 
"The migrant crisis wounded the idea of European solidarity, and the coronavirus killed it. The EU has banned the export of medical equipment and drugs beyond its borders. Had we depended on those imports, how many dead would there be in Serbia? Had we voted in international forums against China and Russia, siding with the EU, had we, too, imposed sanctions against Russia, how much aid could we expect?" asked Vulin.