NATO attack on Yugoslavia began on this day 27 years ago: Bombing lasted 78 days, more than 3,500 victims

In the first wave, more than 20 targets were hit, and the first missiles struck a barracks in Prokuplje, soldier Boban Nedeljkovic was killed.

During the 78 days of bombing, 1,031 members of the army and police were killed, while more than 5,000 were wounded. Around 2,500 civilians were killed, including 89 children, and about 6,000 were injured.

The destruction was enormous: bridges, roads, factories, schools, hospitals, and media buildings were destroyed.

Tens of thousands of facilities were damaged, and the total damage was estimated at around $100 billion. During 11 weeks of aggression, NATO dropped 22,000 tons of projectiles, including 37,000 banned cluster bombs and those filled with depleted uranium.

A large part of the country’s infrastructure was destroyed, including industrial facilities, schools, healthcare institutions, media houses, cultural monuments, churches, and monasteries. Altogether, it is estimated that about 50% of Serbia’s production capacity was affected.

Around 25,000 residential buildings were destroyed or damaged, 470 kilometers of roads and 595 kilometers of railway lines were rendered unusable.

Fourteen airports, 19 hospitals, 20 health centers, 18 kindergartens, 69 schools, 176 cultural monuments, and 44 bridges were damaged, while 38 were destroyed.

Vucic in Vranje on the Day of Remembrance

The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, will attend the marking of the Day of Remembrance for those killed in the 1999 NATO aggression in Vranje.

The Day of Remembrance will be observed at the plateau in front of the National Museum Gallery starting at 7:30 PM.

Causes and escalation of the conflict

As the reason for the intervention, NATO cited a humanitarian crisis in Kosovo and Metohija, while events in Racak and the failure of negotiations in Rambouillet and Paris served as immediate triggers.

During 1998, clashes intensified, with attacks by the KLA and responses by security forces, further escalating the situation.

Although threats of military intervention had existed since the early 1990s, the NATO attack on the FRY was effectively prepared during 1998.

Foto: Srđan Ilić

In the book Modern Warfare, Wesley Clark did not hide that planning for the NATO attack on the FRY was "well underway by mid-June 1998".

In the spring of 1998, the border area of the municipalities of Decani and Djakovica was a zone of mass terrorist activities by the KLA.

Decani was under siege for months, without electricity and telephone connections, and heavy fighting took place in April and May.

At the beginning of June, the KLA announced mobilization, which included mandatory enlistment of all Albanians aged 18 to 55, indicating an armed uprising.

Foto: Srđan Ilić

According to the Yugoslav Army General Staff, in the first wave on March 24th, more than 20 facilities were targeted.

The first missiles struck at 7:53 PM on the barracks in Prokuplje, where soldier Boban Nedeljkovic, the first victim of the aggression, was killed.

Strikes followed on Pristina, Kursumlija, Batajnica, and Strazevica. At the same time, transmitters and communication systems on Jastrebac and elsewhere were targeted, as well as Strazevica in Rakovica.

End and consequences

On May 27th, 1999, during the height of the aggression against the FRY, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia issued indictments and arrest warrants for Slobodan Milosevic, Milan Milutinovic, Nikola Sainovic, Dragoljub Ojdanic, and Vlajko Stojiljkovic for alleged crimes in Kosovo and Metohija.

The bombing ended on June 10th, 1999, after the signing of the Military-Technical Agreement near Kumanovo and the order to cease attacks.

The consequences were long-lasting, human losses, destruction, and serious environmental and economic problems that are still felt decades later.

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