Advance to Pristina

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The push to Pristina ( Russian Марш-бросок на Приштину march brosok na Prischtinu or shortened Бросок на Приштину Brosok na Prischtinu ) was a military operation of the Russian forces to occupy the airport of Kosovo's capital Pristina after the end of the Kosovo war . It was stopped by an air blockade. A direct confrontation between NATO and Russia was brought about by British officers Mike Jackson and James Blount prevented.

course

After NATO led by the United States in the planned KFOR - peacekeeping force Russia not have its own sector in Kosovo willing to concede, because as a result feared a split of Kosovo, in 1999 occupied at night on June 12, Russian paratroopers of the SFOR in Bosnia Coming unexpectedly the Pristina airport .

The soldiers of the Russian brigade entered Kosovo after the end of the air strikes and according to the resolution of the UN Security Council before the arrival of the KFOR troops “to also take part in the international peace operation” and were welcomed by the Serb minority. The NATO letter from Alexander Nikitin states: “The Russian peacekeeping forces advanced south via Bosnia and Herzegovina through Serbia to Pristina airport, where they met NATO troops moving north from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia . "

They surprisingly came before the KFOR march, which could not be brought forward due to the treaties with Serbia. The US-American General Wesley Clark as Supreme Allied Commander Europe wanted (covered by the UN Secretary General ) to take action against the Russian troops, the British officers Lieutenant General Sir Mike Jackson, Clark's deputy and KFOR commander, and Captain James Blount prevented this from happening Command was executed.

Parade at the airport on the occasion of President Putin's visit to Kosovo in 2001

The Russian reinforcements standing by could not be flown in because of the air blockade through Hungary , Romania and Bulgaria requested by the USA , which made it unnecessary to block the Pristina runway by Captain Blount's tanks or by helicopters. The Russian soldiers, left to fend for themselves, were then supplied by NATO troops.

As of July 1999, Russia placed 1,500 soldiers under KFOR. In 2003 Russia withdrew all of its soldiers.

Russian view and representation of the events

Transport routes of the Russian KFOR troops: Green: express march on Pristina. Red: air route, blue: sea route

From the Russian point of view, according to Security Council resolution 1244, the presence for the security of Kosovo was no longer a prerogative of NATO, but the task of all international organizations and states, including Russia.

At a meeting with the US delegation at the Russian State Department, negotiating partner Leonid Ivashov had condescendingly spoken of the US's "permission" to participate in the KFOR troops with a battalion within the US. Later it was said that two battalions led by General Jackson were involved. The Russian side viewed this as a misunderstanding of the UN resolution.

With the knowledge of Yeltsin , Colonel General Viktor Zavarsin, Russia's main representative at NATO, ordered that the NATO troops be forestalled. The capture of the main Slatina airport three hours before the arrival of the NATO troops was a complete success. Wesley Clark must have felt that as a slap in the face.

Reception in Russia today

In Russia, the advance to Pristina is seen as an example of the high morale and superior military capabilities of the Russian armed forces.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.nato.int/docu/review/2004/issue4/german/special_pr.html
  2. ↑ James Blunt: How I Prevented World War III. In: SPIEGEL ONLINE. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Washington Post, June 25, 1999
  4. ^ Robertson's plum job in a warring NATO . In: The Guardian . August 2, 1999, ISSN  0261-3077 ( theguardian.com [accessed March 28, 2016]).
  5. ↑ The Guardian, August 3, 1999
  6. ↑ Martin Taborsky: RUSKII Vopros. In: www.russkiivopros.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Статья в газете "Правда" - "МЫ УХОДИМ ...." In: kprf.ru. Retrieved March 28, 2016 .
  8. ↑ Sergey Sukhankin: Slavic Brotherhood 2018: Applying the Syrian and Donbas Experience to the Balkans? , jamestown.org July 10, 2018.