Joint Russian-Serbian air defense exercise Slavic Shield 2021 starts in Serbia

MOSCOW. Oct 14 (Interfax) - The joint Russian-Serbian military exercise Slavic Shield 2021 has started in Serbia, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"The opening ceremony for the Russian-Serbian exercise Slavic Shield 2021 has been held at the training center for air defense troops at the Serbian air base Batajnica, located in a suburb of Belgrade," the Defense Ministry said.

The purpose of the exercise is the creation and use of joint air defense group and boosting the combat skills of personnel in joint missions, Sergei Babakov, commander of the Missile Defense Troops of the Russian Aerospace Forces, said at the ceremony.

"A squadron of Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile systems of the Russian Aerospace Forces will be deployed at the Serbian air base Batajnica and will be included in the joint Russian-Serbian mixed group of air defense forces that will practice air defense of the area during the exercise," the ministry said.

The joint air defense group will be on combat duty in new positioning areas at the Pasulyansk-Levada training range in Serbia for a week.

The exercise will end on October 17, the ministry said.