Serbia calls on Russian firefighting plane as EU assets remain unavailable

On August 20, Serbia turned to Moscow for assistance in battling a persistent wildfire in the protected Deliblatska Pescara reserve. An IL-76P firefighting aircraft from the Russian Emergencies Ministry landed in Niš on Wednesday evening and began operations on Thursday, filling a gap left by the absence of comparable EU aircraft. Luka Causic, head of the Interior Ministry’s Department for Emergency Situations, said the Russian plane would markedly boost Serbia’s firefighting capacity.

The aircraft traversed Bulgarian airspace after Belgrade secured a transit request, underscoring Serbia’s effort to maintain ties with both Russia and the European Union, which it hopes to join. While Serbia has previously contributed resources to EU wildfire relief in Spain, the continent’s own fires have stretched its resources thin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Serbia earlier this month, yet Belgrade has not aligned with EU sanctions against Russia. Pilot Andrei Vidlov noted the mission felt familiar, adding that it was not his first time working in Serbia.