11.06.2020.
The send-off ceremony for the members of the Guard who will participate in Victory Parade in Moscow
Minister Vulin: By participating in the parade, we reaffirm that freedom means everything to us
Members of the Guard of the Serbian Armed Forces, who will participate in the Military parade in Moscow on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of victory over fascism, were sent off by the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin at the “Colonel-Pilot Milenko Pavlović“ Airport today.
The send-off ceremony was also attended by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Belgrade, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko and the Commander of the Guard, Major General Milomir Todorović.
- Serbs led the first anti-fascist uprising in Europe in 1941. In 1944 Yugoslav partisans, together with the Red Army, liberated Belgrade and drove away the Nazi occupier forever, and 75 years later Serbia is free to decide for itself and choose its own friends - said the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin.
- That is why we will be at the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the great victory on Red Square. The Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, will watch the parade together, but more importantly, they will reaffirm that freedom means everything to us, and that we have never been on the wrong side of history - the Minister of Defence pointed out and added that the Serbs won their freedom and that is why they know how much it is worth.
He pointed out that the Guard is an elite unit of the Serbian Armed Forces.- It is a unit with a glorious fighting, warrior tradition and that is why we are sending it. Not only because they are trained and equipped, and that they will, I’m sure, look best on Red Square, but also because they have a tradition of a combat war unit, which knows how to defend freedom and how much it is worth - said the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin and added that the representatives of Serbia on Red Square will be free, with free nations and on the side of the victors, "the side that our ancestors won for us".
The Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Belgrade, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, said that the parade in Moscow is the key event of marking the 75th anniversary of Victory over Fascism Day.
- The participation of the President of Serbia and the Guard of the Serbian Armed Forces will be a symbol of the nature of our relations, because we have always been together and on the right side of history, and it will remain so forever. Their participation in the parade has a great echo in Russia, and in addition to embellishing the parade, members of the Guard will bring content and confirm the libertarian tradition of Serbia, which is the tradition of heroism and the fight against aggressors. The line of soldiers in the ceremonial procession will be a symbol of the high level of our relations - Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko pointed out and confirmed that the Guard of the Serbian Armed Forces will be the only foreign unit in the military parade, apart from the units of the former Soviet Union.
The head of the Guard delegation, Colonel Željko Gavrilović, said that the members of the Guard are aware of the assigned task and the great honour that was given to them.- We worked hard to prepare for the upcoming parade in Moscow. Rest assured that we will do our best to present the Serbian Armed Forces and the state in the right way at such a big event - Colonel Gavrilović pointed out.
Members of the elite unit of the Serbian Armed Forces will march on the Red Square on 24 June and there will be 75 of them to symbolize the number of years that have passed since the Day of the Victory.
