It is not widely known in Serbia that NATO is strongly supporting the destruction of ammunition, bombs and shells which have expired long time ago and thus present a potential threat and danger for further maintenance. The destruction facility is located in Kragujevac and these days continued its work on which occasion a ceremony was attended by representatives of the Serbian Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defense and NATO. The significance of this process is evident from the fact that in Kragujevac, about 1,300 tons of old bullets, bombs, mortars, artillery shells and rockets should be destroyed.
“Serbia is our neighbor and important partner, and NATO wants to assist Serbia and other Western Balkan countries in securing preconditions for safe keeping of their stockpiles of bombs, rockets, mines and ammunition”, said in her speech Oana Lungescu, spokeswoman for the NATO Pact.
She explained that huge stockpiles of ammunition, bombs, mines and shells have been stored in military warehouses in Serbia since the beginning of the wars in 1990, which presents a great potential risk to both the population of Serbia and the environment. She also said that the total value of the project, designed to destroy those surpluses, was € 4 million and € 150,000, and that the money would be provided by NATO members.