"Airborne Forces against NATO" March-Throw to Pristina, as it happened. Pristina throw

On the night of June 11-12, 1999, a battalion of Russian paratroopers made a forced march from Bosnia to Kosovo in a few hours. As a result, they took control of the Slatina airport (now Pristina International Airport), through which they planned to carry out an invasion of massive NATO forces. The seizure of the airport went against the plans of the North Atlantic Alliance, and could lead to a military confrontation between Russia and NATO.

In a stunning forced march from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 200 Russian paratroopers covered a distance of 500 kilometers in 7.5 hours!

On March 24, 1999, NATO aircraft began launching massive missile and bomb attacks on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. On June 10, 1999, the bombing was suspended. On June 20, NATO leadership announced a complete cessation of military operations against Yugoslavia. The leadership of Yugoslavia agreed to the deployment of a peacekeeping contingent, the core of which was NATO troops, to the territory of Kosovo.

In May 1999, Major Yunus-bek Evkurov, who was at that time part of the international peacekeeping contingent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, received a top secret task from the high military command of the Russian Federation: as part of a group of 18 special forces soldiers of the GRU of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, secretly penetrate into the territory Kosovo and Metohija and take control of the strategic facility - Slatina airport and prepare for the arrival of the main forces of the Russian contingent. Y. Evkurov completed the task and his group, acting under various legends, secretly for the surrounding Serbs and Albanians at the end of May 1999, took full control of the Slatina airport. The detailed circumstances of this operation are still classified.

On June 10, 1999, the NATO military operation ended. According to UN Security Council Resolution 1244, NATO peacekeeping forces were introduced into Kosovo.
The establishment of control over the Slatina airfield and the deployment of NATO peacekeeping forces to Kosovo were planned for June 12, 1999. The main NATO ground forces were concentrated in Macedonia and were preparing to move towards Kosovo on the morning of June 12, 1999.
On June 10, 1999, the Russian peacekeeping contingent SFOR (unit of the Russian Airborne Forces), located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, received an order to prepare a mechanized column and an advance detachment of up to 200 people.
The advance detachment and column, which included armored personnel carriers, Ural and UAZ vehicles, were prepared as soon as possible. At the same time, the personnel (except for the command) who were supposed to participate in the forced march did not know where and why they were preparing to go until the very last moment. Even before crossing the border, the markings of Russian military and transport equipment were changed from “SFOR” to “KFOR”.

On the night of June 11-12, 1999, the advance detachment of the Airborne Forces in armored personnel carriers and vehicles moved towards the border of Bosnia and Yugoslavia. The Russian Airborne Forces column crossed the border without difficulty. Until this moment, the NATO command did not have information about the start of the forced march of Russian paratroopers to Pristina.
The personnel were given the task of covering more than 600 kilometers in the shortest possible time and capturing the Slatina airfield before the arrival of NATO forces. Russian flags were hung on armored personnel carriers and vehicles. While passing through the territory of Serbia, including the territory of Kosovo, the local population joyfully greeted Russian soldiers, throwing flowers at the equipment, passing on food and drinks. In this regard, the movement of the column slowed down slightly. A column of Russian paratroopers arrived in Pristina at approximately 2 a.m. on June 12, 1999. The population of the city took to the streets to greet the column, using firecrackers, flares, and machine gun fire in some places. The column passed through Pristina in 1.5 hours. Immediately after Pristina, the airborne convoy entered Kosovo Field, where it stopped for a short time to clarify tasks and receive information from intelligence.

As the column advanced, it encountered numerous retreating units of the Serbian army. The paratroopers quickly captured all the premises of the Slatina airport, took up a perimeter defense, set up checkpoints and prepared for the appearance of the first NATO columns, which were already on their way. The task of capturing Slatina was completed by 7 a.m. on June 12, 1999, and twenty minutes later units of other foreign armies arrived there.

At approximately 11:00 a.m., an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft appeared in the sky above the airfield, then from the checkpoint at the entrance to the Slatina airport, the battalion command received a message about the arrival first column of NATO forces. These were British jeeps. On the other hand, British tanks were approaching the airfield.

Both columns stopped in front of Russian checkpoints. Landing helicopters appeared in the sky. British helicopter pilots made several attempts to land at the airfield, but these attempts were thwarted by the crews of Russian armored personnel carriers. As soon as the helicopter came in to land, an armored personnel carrier immediately rushed towards it, thus preventing its maneuver. Having failed, the British pilots flew away.

General Michael Jackson - commander of NATO forces in the Balkans, came out in front of the tank column and, turning his back to the Russian soldiers, began making gestures to invite the tanks forward, moving with his back to the checkpoint. One of the officers at the checkpoint demanded General Jackson Do not do this under threat of using weapons. At the same time, Russian soldiers took aim at British tanks with hand-held grenade launchers. Thus, the seriousness of the intentions of the Russian soldiers was shown. British tanks remained in their positions, stopping attempts to break into the territory of the Slatina airport.
Although the commander of NATO forces in Europe, American General Wesley Clark ordered British General Michael Jackson to capture the airfield before the Russians, the British replied that he had no intention of starting World War III.

Subsequently, the famous British singer James Blunt, who served in the NATO group in 1999, testified about General Clark’s order to recapture the airfield from Russian paratroopers. Blunt said that he would not shoot at the Russians even under the threat of a court martial. In addition, Blunt said:

“About 200 Russians were stationed at the airfield... General Wesley Clark's direct order was to "put them down." Clark used expressions that were unusual for us. For example - “destroy”. There were political reasons for the seizure of the airfield. But the practical consequence would be an attack on the Russians.”

In the end, the commander of the British group in the Balkans, Michael Jackson, said that he “would not allow his soldiers to start the Third World War.” He gave the command “instead of attacking, surround the airfield.”

Then all the TV channels circulated pictures of the joyful faces of the Serbs and flowers on the armor of Russian vehicles. Russian newspapers called this campaign " the largest military operation since the Second World War."

“Even a sudden landing of the Russians on Mars would not have had the same effect on the Americans and their allies as the Russian armored personnel carriers near Pristina,” wrote the Belgrade newspaper Evening News. The deployment of international peacekeeping forces began precisely with the Russian prelude, upending NATO's plans to triumphantly enter the Serbian province after several weeks of bombing.

According to Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, a former high-ranking military commander of the Russian Ministry of Defense, “it was a brilliant raid, carried out despite fierce pressure from Washington and Brussels (NATO headquarters). Russia’s powerful military-political potential was declared not only in the Balkans.”

Leonid Ivashov emphasized that the deployment of the battalion was carried out “in full compliance with the norms of international law and the UN Security Council resolution.” Authorization for the operation was given by Russian President Boris Yeltsin. “His decision, based on the reports of the ministers of defense and foreign affairs, provided for the simultaneous introduction of a Russian peacekeeping contingent in the event of NATO’s refusal to recognize Russia as an equal partner in resolving the situation in Kosovo.” The introduction was carried out in agreement with the political leadership of Yugoslavia.

According to Ivashov, the final decision on the deployment was made “after the breakdown of negotiations with the Americans, in which they tried to impose discriminatory conditions on Russia for participation in the peacekeeping operation in the Balkans.” “Russia was asked to participate in the operation with two battalions as part of the mobile reserve of KFOR commander General Jackson, and, naturally, Russia refused this option,” Ivashov said.

During the entire period of stay of Russian military personnel in Kosovo from June 1999 to July 23, 2003, when the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers was completely completed, they seized more than 800 small arms, a large amount of ammunition, drugs, and detained over a thousand civilians for committing illegal actions; More than 12 thousand explosive objects were neutralized. In certain periods, the number of Russian peacekeepers in the Balkans exceeded three thousand soldiers and officers.

The forced march to Pristina is an operation of a combined airborne battalion, part of the international peacekeeping contingent in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the city of Pristina, the purpose of which was to take control of the Slatina airport of the British KFOR unit, carried out on the night of June 11-12, 1999 .

From the very beginning of the bombing of Yugoslavia, the Russian Federation tried to resist NATO countries in a political way.

In order for Russia to indicate its presence in world politics, as well as to ensure its own geopolitical interests in the Balkan region, the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense made a secret decision to seize the Slatina airport and introduce a Russian peacekeeping contingent into the territory of Kosovo and Metohija. This decision ran counter to NATO’s military plans, which could lead to the outbreak of a full-scale war, and therefore the operation had to be carried out with lightning speed, covertly and unexpectedly for NATO.

In the event of an attack on Russian paratroopers by NATO forces, it was planned to hastily hold blitz negotiations with the military and political leadership of Yugoslavia, enter into a military alliance with Yugoslavia and repel advancing NATO troops throughout Kosovo, while simultaneously transferring several regiments to Kosovo and Metohija Airborne Forces, or even a division.

On the night of June 11-12, 1999, the advance detachment of the Airborne Forces in armored personnel carriers and vehicles moved towards the border of Bosnia and Yugoslavia.vk.com/historylink The column of the Russian Airborne Forces easily crossed the border. Until this moment, the NATO command did not have information about the start of the forced march of Russian paratroopers to Pristina.

Even before crossing the border, the markings of Russian military and transport equipment were changed from “SFOR” to “KFOR”. The personnel were given the task of covering more than 600 kilometers in the shortest possible time and capturing the Slatina airfield before the arrival of NATO forces. Russian flags were hung on armored personnel carriers and vehicles. While passing through the territory of Serbia, including the territory of Kosovo, the local population joyfully greeted Russian soldiers, throwing flowers at the equipment, passing on food and drinks. In this regard, the movement of the column slowed down slightly. A column of Russian paratroopers arrived in Pristina at approximately 2 a.m. on June 12, 1999.

The population of the city took to the streets to greet the column, using firecrackers, flares, and machine gun fire in some places. The column passed through Pristina in 1.5 hours. Immediately after Pristina, the airborne convoy entered Kosovo Field, where it stopped for a short time to clarify tasks and receive information from intelligence.

Arrival of British armored column

At approximately 11:00 a.m., an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft appeared in the sky above the airfield, then from the checkpoint at the entrance to Slatina airport, the battalion command received a message about the arrival of the first column of NATO forces. These were British jeeps. On the other hand, British tanks were approaching the airfield.

General Michael Jackson, the commander of the NATO forces in the Balkans, came out in front of the tank column and, turning his back to the Russian soldiers, began to gesture to the tanks forward, moving with his back to the checkpoint. vk.com/historylink One of the officers who was at the checkpoint demanded that General Jackson not do this, under threat of using weapons. At the same time, Russian soldiers took aim at British tanks with hand-held grenade launchers. Thus, the seriousness of the intentions of the Russian soldiers was shown. British tanks remained in their positions, stopping attempts to break into the territory of the Slatina airport.

Although the commander of NATO forces in Europe, American General Wesley Clark ordered British General Michael Jackson to capture the airfield before the Russians, the British replied that he had no intention of starting World War III. He gave the command “instead of attacking, surround the airfield.”

According to the operation plan, after the capture of the Slatina airport, military transport planes of the Russian Air Force were to land there soon, with which at least two airborne regiments and heavy military equipment were to be transferred. However, Hungary (a NATO member) and Bulgaria (a NATO ally) refused to provide Russia with an air corridor, as a result of which 200 paratroopers were practically left alone for several days with all the arriving NATO forces.

Negotiations and consensus

For several days, negotiations between Russia and NATO (represented by the United States) at the level of foreign and defense ministers took place in Helsinki (Finland). vk.com/historylink All this time, Russian and British troops in the area of the Slatina airport were in no way inferior to each other, although a small delegation led by General Michael Jackson was allowed into the airport.

During complex negotiations, the parties agreed to deploy a Russian military peacekeeping contingent in Kosovo within areas controlled by Germany, France and the United States. Russia was not allocated a special sector for fear on the part of NATO that this would lead to the actual division of the region. At the same time, the Slatina airport was under the control of the Russian contingent.

The Russian Federation, having control of the only airport in the region, was able to dictate its position to NATO, which ultimately led to NATO allocating areas of responsibility to the Russian peacekeeping forces, including the Slatina airport itself remaining under Russian control.

"Lord have mercy! Lord have mercy!" - the words of a Serbian folk prayer song were heard at a concert in honor of a delegation of Russian paratroopers in the mining town of Ugljevik in the east of Republika Srpska, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A group of paratroopers from Russia, led by the former chief of staff of the Airborne Forces, Lieutenant General Nikolai Staskov, arrived here to celebrate the 14th anniversary of the legendary forced march of the airborne battalion in Kosovo. In June 1999, this news alarmed the world - Russian troops, right in front of the NATO vanguard, captured Slatina Airport, a key facility in Kosovo. The Serbs took heart. The march of the airborne battalion gave many Russians a feeling of pride in the country and the army.

After 14 years, this date was hardly noticed in Russia, except for a couple of media reports. They “didn’t notice” it either in Belgrade, where today everyone is increasingly looking towards the West. But in the modest 18,000-population Uglevik, where ten years ago the headquarters of the Russian peacekeepers’ brigade was located, our paratroopers are remembered and loved. “Serbia is alive while Russia lives,” - the quintessence of this memory were the words from the same song, performed by Serbian girls...

The Russian delegation was met by the chairman of the Serbian-Russian Union, Savo Cvetinovic, formerly one of the leaders of the Serbian police, and now a postal worker. Together with Airborne Forces officers, he restored peace and order on the long-suffering land of the Republika Srpska. Loyalty to the oath, patriotism and pro-Russian orientation cost him a high position and a career in the police. He was too inconvenient for the proteges from the international community, the “supervisors” from the IPTF (international police), too honest, too friendly to the Russian peacekeepers.
Cvetinovic is one of those who do not change their views depending on the situation. Now such people are in great short supply in Serbia, and in Russia as well. For him, Russian paratroopers are the most dear guests in the world.

Enterprise security service

The acute phase of the conflict in the Balkans has been extinguished. The wounds are gradually healing, the heroes and traitors of that war, which flared up on the fragments of Yugoslavia and rolled like a roller through the destinies of living people, through families, friendships and the former unity of peoples, are becoming a thing of the past. The roads and the remains of burnt and abandoned houses are overgrown with grass. Yugoslavia is no more, and, as the Serbs themselves say, there will be no more. The reasons and reasons for the collapse of the country turned out to be much stronger and more effective than those bonds that had sewn the SFRY together since the time of Tito. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs, Muslims and Croats are divided into entities, separating themselves into their own territories, on opposite sides of the international community's dividing line.

Refugees settled into new homes, even moving the graves of their ancestors for housewarming. Now there are much fewer towns and villages with a mixed population in Bosnia and Herzegovina, although along the former demarcation line Serbian villages still alternate with Muslim ones. In the 90s, when there were battles, on sections of roads that were under fire from commanding heights, local Serbs, fleeing from snipers, installed plywood shields along the roads and hung pieces of fabric and blankets on ropes, blocking their view.

To the south, 600 kilometers southeast of Ugljevik, there is Kosovo Field, a historical place for the Serbs, which in the 90s of the 20th century turned into a pain for the Serbian people. The defeat in the battle with the Ottomans seven centuries ago was followed by the tragedy of the Serb genocide in the 2000s.

...Memory inexorably takes us to those days of the 90s, when foreign military contingents were introduced into Bosnia and Herzegovina. The political leadership of the world's leading states, destroying, as it seemed to them, “the last stronghold of communism in Europe,” through their actions “torn apart” and tore into pieces the territory of the former Yugoslavia along religious and national lines, initiating one of the bloodiest conflicts of the 20th century. All this, of course, in the name of democracy and justice. The end justified the means...

The Serbs were left with less and less living space. The Dayton Agreements in December 1994 legalized the new reality.
Peacekeeping units of the Russian Airborne Forces were serving in the Republika Srpska at that time, which, according to many of its residents, became a guarantee of the safety of the population and prevented new clashes. The task is to separate the warring parties, seize them, and establish a peaceful life. In fact, the American military served next to us, side by side with our paratroopers. What was unusual was that potential adversaries, who had been preparing to fight each other for many years, carried out a peacekeeping mission as part of the same organizational structure of the multinational division “North”, representing the interests of their countries in the region.

“We were enemies, but we met each other not on the battlefield, but as peacekeepers,” recalls General Nikolai Staskov. - An unusual condition, considering our preparation. Here we learned to communicate in a peaceful environment. We gradually established interaction, although at first it was not easy.”

Former chief of staff of the Russian Airborne Forces Nikolai Staskov at the location of the headquarters of the Russian peacekeeping brigade in Ugljevik, Republika Srpska with a delegation of Russian paratroopers

A unit of American Rangers was located at the headquarters of the Russian Airborne Forces brigade, and officers of the Russian interaction group in the interests of Russian peacekeepers carried out tasks at the American Eagle base in Tuzla.

The attitude of the population towards the peacekeepers was specific - Americans, to put it mildly, were not liked here, but the Russians were seen as fraternal protection. The population's trust in our military personnel, who served at posts patrolling the area of responsibility, according to Nikolai Staskov, then played a major role in normalizing the situation. The shots stopped sounding, the explosions stopped, people gradually returned to peaceful life: “The friendship of the Russian and Serbian peoples, which is a constant value, had an effect.”

The fact that the brigade of Russian paratroopers was firmly established in the Republika Srpska, having deployed, in addition to the headquarters, units, and posts, also an operational group that independently analyzed the information and transmitted it to Russia, did not please the American command, which demanded unconditional submission. “Partners” constantly complained to Moscow about the proactive commanders of the Russian landing force. For example, Western media accused General Staskov of almost disrupting the Dayton Agreements, calling him “a gun without a safety lock.”

In January 1996, a separate airborne brigade of 1,500 people was sent to participate in the peacekeeping operation of the multinational forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On the night of June 11-12, 1999, a battalion of Russian paratroopers made a dashing rush from Bosnia to Kosovo in a few hours, capturing a strategically important facility - the Slatina airfield and ahead of tank columns of NATO troops. After this, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution No. 1244, on the basis of a decree of the President of Russia and in accordance with the “Agreed Points of Russian Participation in the KFOR Forces” signed by the Ministers of Defense of the Russian Federation and the United States on June 18, 1999 in Helsinki, it was decided to send a military contingent of the Armed Forces to Kosovo RF numbering 3616 people.

The Russian Airborne Forces in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, together with NATO, participated in two peacekeeping operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. In BiH, paratroopers controlled a territory with a total area of 1,750 km2. The total length of the controlled line of separation between the parties is 75 km. The units were located in 3 base areas (2 on the territory of the Republika Srpska - Ugljevik and Priboj, 1 - on the territory of the BiH Federation - Simin Khan).

Bombs are real and psychological

...It was a troubled time - preparations were underway for NATO aggression against Yugoslavia, then the Kosovo events followed. In the spring of 1999, NATO bombers lined up in combat echelons to conduct (think about the term!) “humanitarian bombing” of the infrastructure of Greater Serbia directly above the base area of the Russian brigade. There is nothing to the border - less than 30 km.

One day, an aerial carousel spun right in the sky above Ugljevik, when a Yugoslav MiG had an unequal battle with two of the newest American fighters, was shot down and, leaving a trail of smoke, began to fly towards Serbia. The Serbian pilot managed to eject. He, wounded, was picked up by local residents and, after providing medical assistance, was transported across the border with Serbia. And search groups of the American contingent scoured the ground for several days, with the task of capturing the downed pilot.

Leaflet for military personnel of the FRY Armed Forces in KOSOVO, distributed by NATO aviation in March-June 1999. Caption on the illustration: “Thousands of bombs...obeying the will of the whole world, will continuously rain down on your unit.” Signed on the back: “Warning to the FRY Armed Forces: LEAVE KOSOVO! NATO is using B-52 bombers armed with 225-kilogram MK-82 bombs against units of the FRY Armed Forces in KOSOVO and METOHIJA. One B-52 can carry up to 50 such bombs! These aircraft will "Fly until your atrocities stop and you are kicked out of KOSOVO and METOHIJA. If you want to survive and see your families again, drop your weapons"

At this time, the entire population of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the Republika Srpska, was subject to active psychological influence from Western countries. These places have become a kind of testing ground for “testing” new information technologies and their further application in other regions of the world. Thousands of American psychological warfare specialists began their work, creating media, connecting local TV channels and radio stations, organizing “talk shows,” distributing leaflets, etc. Psychological warfare officers from the Russian brigade resisted this flow, creating a different information background in the Serbian media, and often, as the Americans themselves admitted, won these duels on the air, on screens and in newspapers.

With the intensification of the operation to push the Serbs out of Kosovo, in addition to bombs, rockets and shells, leaflets were rained down on Serbian troops and civilian objects from the air with threats to bomb indefinitely. The processing of the consciousness of the military people and the population did not stop for a minute. It can be said that in the Balkans, NATO forces won in the information sphere, since the damage inflicted from the air on the Yugoslav army in Kosovo was minimal.
Here, strategy and tactics were practiced, and methods and methods of conducting information warfare were tested.

The scale of NATO special operations is evidenced by the following fact: one day the wind suddenly changed, and one and a half million leaflets dropped on Serbia were carried to the territory of neighboring Hungary. Paper rain fell on the heads of the taken aback Hungarians. The leaflets read: “Thousands of bombs...obeying the will of the whole world, will continuously rain down on your unit... Warning to the FRY Armed Forces: leave Kosovo! NATO is using B-52 bombers armed with 225-kilogram MK-82 bombs against units of the FRY Armed Forces in Kosovo and Metohija. One B-52 can carry up to 50 of these bombs! …These planes will keep coming until your atrocities stop and they drive you out of Kosovo and Metohija. If you want to survive and see your families again, throw down your weapons..."

...But it cannot be said that Yugoslavia was doomed in this confrontation. Yes, in Belgrade, headquarters, military and civil infrastructure buildings, and social facilities were systematically attacked. Cruise missiles and smart bombs hit objects marked with “beacons” placed by American agents. But the Yugoslav army did not suffer the losses that Washington and Brussels had hoped for. Serbian military units successfully maneuvered, used camouflage and thermal decoys for NATO missiles. Air defense forces gradually learned to deal with air targets, shooting down the “invisible” F-117 Stealth and a couple of Mirages. The army retained its core and combat capability... But the methodical information and psychological processing of the Serbs bore fruit - official Belgrade accepted the terms of the international community's ultimatum. The territory of Kosovo, along with Albanian formations, was occupied by the Americans, the British and their allies. Moscow's demands to include Russia in the format of the operation in Kosovo in order to stop the genocide of the Serbian population were ignored. Under these conditions, the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces and the headquarters of the Airborne Forces made an adventurous and risky decision at first glance - a forward detachment as part of a separate parachute battalion to carry out a seven-hundred-kilometer forced march into the very heart of Kosovo, ahead of the NATO units that had begun advancing through Serbian territory, to capture a military Slatina airfield and ensure the landing of the main forces of the Russian peacekeeping contingent. It is significant that even President Yeltsin, who would be informed about the operation after its completion, did not know about this plan. Such secrecy justified itself 100% - at least, the pro-Western entourage of the Russian President was completely in the dark, not having time to present him with the situation in the light they needed and to thwart the airborne battalion's assault.

“I dream about the march at night”

It looked like a picture from another life - flowers on the armor, Serbian girls kissing Russian soldiers, wild jubilation. A battalion of Russian paratroopers rushed into position at the Slatina airfield in Kosovo. How did the military prepare and carry out this march? These questions began a conversation with a direct participant in the events described, the commander of the Russian airborne battalion that advanced to Kosovo, Colonel Sergei Pavlov.

NATO planes formed battle formations over our camp and left for Belgrade. We continued to patrol our area of responsibility and carry out peacekeeping tasks within the framework of the given mandate. There was not even a hint that we could move somewhere. But to be honest, I had a presentiment. Premonition often helps me out, and it didn’t let me down then either. I suddenly felt that events were coming in which we would be active participants, although I personally had two months left before my replacement.

Usually during this period any commander is not particularly zealous in his service. But for me it’s just the opposite. People said: “What has come over the battalion commander, since it’s time for him to relax and prepare for rotation?”

In May, we completed the transfer of equipment to the summer operating period. I approached this issue very seriously and asked my subordinates strictly, focusing on the quality of translation. Ultimately, this was the guarantee of success.

We were given only 8 hours to prepare for the 700 km march! In my memory, no one had a more stringent time frame, not even in the Airborne Forces. Is anyone able to repeat what we achieved then? Big question. I'm not sure.

That night we had to film three posts. People were far away in the mountains, communication was poor. While it was transmitted, while it was duplicated, while we were understood correctly and we gathered everyone, it took time. People got the feeling that something serious was being prepared. There was general tension, but I didn’t see anyone being afraid.

… The time for “H” came and our column began to move... When the combat order was given, we realized that within an hour the whole world would know about us. Can you imagine our feelings? How will a country on its knees react to this? God forbid, there will be failure... We were not afraid for ourselves, for our own skin. There was a feeling of enormous responsibility, because there would be no excuse later. How to look people in the eyes - why didn’t you do it, didn’t you fulfill it? And you are always afraid for people. God forbid…

The march passed without losses. People later realized that my rigor had borne fruit - not a single piece of equipment failed during the march. The task was completed. But they blamed me for being too harsh and demanding; they said that I could have been softer. The truth was on my side. Now I sleep peacefully, knowing that not a single mother, not a single wife curses me... We brought everyone through without losses, we completed the task without clashes. Then I crossed myself and said: “Thank God, everyone is alive.”

Was there any danger along the route? How did the events unfold?

Our passage was provided at a high level. So we never say that General Rybkin and I did everything. The decision was made at the top, and we only executed it efficiently. We practically flew over Serbian towns. Police patrols and border guards ensured a “green corridor”. They led us, the reconnaissance was five points successful.

I assumed something would happen. An hour or two or three passed, and someone could have come to their senses, NATO could have landed troops using the landing method. What does it cost them? After all, we were confronted by the huge colossus of NATO. Of course, we prepared for the unexpected, even military clashes. We had full ammunition. But the plan was for surprise - on Sunday we moved straight along the autobahn, although I know that the option of driving through the mountains was considered. We were “flying” along the road. Then I learned that the American command had decided to land the rangers, organize an ambush and detain us in any way. Allegedly, on board the BTA plane with the capture group, some kind of cylinder came off, injured someone, and this idea fell through. Maybe they were smart enough not to let things get to the point of fighting. But we didn't have much fun.

Were the soldiers and officers awarded for this march?

You are the first journalist to ask about the awards of soldiers and officers. But this is a big problem. Everyone is interested in only one thing - who gave the order to march? What is my business who gave it? My immediate superior gave me the order, and I have no right to ask questions about who in the upper echelons made the decision. It’s none of my business, because we received the order and went to carry it out.

I know that not everyone was awarded. A medal was established for “Participant in the Bosnia-Kosovo forced march.” Someone was noted, but I know for sure that my two deputies did not receive it. Why dont know. Five years ago, I met in Ivanovo with my deputy for educational affairs, Evgeniy Morozov, and the battalion chief of staff, Vadim Poloyan, who were left without medals. Laughter, and that's all. They say to me: “Commander, how can this be?” What can I do? I was ready to give away my medal, but I needed two...

But I know for sure that these awards were also received by those who did not participate in this march. Our entire reward structure, those who sit in the headquarters, had to bend over backwards to find and reward all the participants in the march. Two years after the forced march, a soldier came to me from a village in the Ryazan region and said that everyone in the village was teasing him, saying that it was a joke that he was a participant in the march in Kosovo, but there was no medal. I had to call the personnel authorities again and demand...

For me personally, awards are not important, I say this without pomp. The best reward is that I saved the fighters for whom I was responsible... It was very difficult to get people out of such a mess... Experience shows that losses - returnable and irrevocable - are not all combat losses. A huge percentage of losses is due to carelessness, due to carelessness, careless handling of weapons, and lack of forethought. We avoided this under those conditions; we didn’t have a single injury.

For ten years in a row, journalists visited me in Ryazan, and then another famous name appeared in the media. It turned out that I was involuntarily erased from history. Immediately the Russian mentality kicked in - they stopped coming to me and asking questions. There have been a lot of assessments, new versions, guesses, but I take it calmly...

When did you enter Kosovo, what and who did you encounter?

At 1.00-1.30 at night we passed through Pristina - the entire population was on the streets. They delayed us a little. While we were out of town, a menacing call came from Moscow. The column was stopped. General Rybkin talked with someone on the phone for a long time, then we convinced him that we still needed to walk six kilometers and complete the task.

We were supposed to occupy the airfield by 5:00 am. By this time, units of the Serbian Armed Forces should have left it and the English brigade should have approached. We were an hour and a half ahead of her. The scouts reported that units of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) were approaching. We managed to take positions and were ready for battle. They captured the runway, blocked it with armored personnel carriers, cleared the main approach routes, blocked the highway to Macedonia, and set up positions along the perimeter. Trenches and caponiers for armored vehicles were dug in the rocky ground for three days.

...After an hour and a half of settling down, one of the posts reported that British intelligence had arrived. The British stopped within sight and were simply “stunned” when they saw our paratroopers. An English general arrived and we spoke in Esperanto - broken English. "Who you are? What are you doing here? We should be here,” I heard something like these words. I had to answer that they were late, that here were the positions of the Russian landing force. The general was taken to the headquarters to see our general. There were no collisions...

Serbian girls kiss battalion commander Sergei Pavlov 14 years after the legendary attack on Pristina. In Russia, many people do not know their heroes by sight

Sergei Evgenievich, the question is essentially - what was the Airborne Battalion doing in Kosovo?

Yugoslavia was bombed, NATO used force to solve the problem of Kosovo and Metohija, a disputed territory with interethnic and interreligious conflict. It’s not for me to give a political assessment of whether Milosevic was right when he sent troops there or not, and who started slaughtering whom. Politicians and historians will figure it out. But the West acted here, pointedly ignoring Russia. Chernomyrdin met with Albright for days, but in the end Kosovo began to be divided into zones of responsibility without Russia.

Then the decision was made to enter Kosovo on our own. Our battalion was an advance detachment - a military formation that captures a line, a piece of terrain, a region and ensures the approach of the main forces. We had to ensure the landing of our main forces at the airfield. True, for a number of reasons the landing force did not land, and the Russian peacekeeping contingent arrived by a different route. The main thing that we succeeded in is that Russia took part in the fate of the Kosovo Serbs. Initially, this was enough to prevent the genocide that the Albanians committed there. This was our mission. What happened next is well known, but it is not for us to judge. In any case, I don’t want to make political assessments. And as a person, I am very sad... Now, 14 years later, we communicate with the Serbs, and they teach us a lesson in patriotism, love for their land, people, love for Russia.

What was happening in Kosovo in those days?

We saw what the Kosovo Liberation Army did. They burned and blew up Orthodox churches and massacred Serbs. They didn’t go to the airfield - they knew they would get a rebuff. And they repeatedly tried to enter the dairy plant in Pristina and staged provocations. We took this territory under protection, thereby saving many Serbs from reprisals. The Albanians showed insulting gestures, captured the Serbs, put a knife to their throats and tried to cut them in front of our eyes. But we had no right to open fire. The soldiers ran out, became human shields, pulled people away, took them away. All this was done under video cameras. Pure provocation...

Is it true that back then a few shots were enough for the situation to explode?

Firstly, the fact that the British approached us became a deterrent. Our military leaders acted wisely - they sent them to the airfield and gave them a place to stay for the night. But threats were constantly made against us.

We received intelligence information from which directions to expect an attack, we disguised ourselves as best we could, limited all movement, we were warned that Albanian snipers were operating, that the task was set to take our paratroopers prisoner, kill, slaughter, which the Chief of the General Staff, General Kvashnin, personally warned us about. . But someone was smart enough not to climb. We organized round-the-clock combat duty.

The soldiers are great, no sloppiness or relaxation. People were really ready. We had experienced contract soldiers, good officers.

...I won’t forget the picture in the first days after the march. One 37-year-old contract soldier, an experienced warrior, is lying on the parapet of the trench and listening. “What are you listening to?” - “Will they arrive or not.” Like in a movie, I answer him: “Don’t worry, they’ll arrive, of course.”

They constantly provoked us - they let the cattle go straight to our positions, and we knew that it was not shepherds who were leading the animals, but scouts. We drove them away; there are different methods for this. The main thing in that situation was not to lose control and not to provoke shooting. Next to our positions there was a fuel and lubricants warehouse. The Kosovars robbed him, took out fuel on tractors, and constantly provoked the fighters.

When our main forces began to arrive by sea and by air, things became much easier and tensions subsided. We have been greatly strengthened. We met the troops, sent them to sectors, and ourselves served at the airfield.

14 years have passed, but I can’t forget anything. The march is before my eyes - from the first second to the last. I was responsible for almost everything, and I still can’t forget this feeling of responsibility. I have never had such tension in my life. I remember everything - the preparation, the “races” on the autobahn, the stabbed woman, the tears of women and old people... This is the most vivid impression in my life.

I dream about the march to Kosovo, and will continue to dream about it until the end of my days. I continue to command at night... We basically did everything right - we completed the task, saved people and equipment...

Abduction: holes in the political string bag

Battalion commander Sergei Pavlov is a man of the old school, well-mannered, correct and taciturn. Now he teaches at the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School named after Army General V.F. Margelov. Cadets often ask him to talk about that march.

... Of course, the rapid forced march of the Airborne Forces to Pristina in June 1999 can rightfully be called a small victory for Russia. And it was not ensured by the successes of armchair diplomacy or even strong-willed fist strikes on the table, but by a simple battalion commander of the airborne battalion and his subordinates.
True, as often happens in such cases, victory always has many fathers, and defeat is an orphan. With surprise, the Airborne Forces later learned about many “heroes” of this legendary march, who either did not participate in it at all, or had, to put it mildly, a very, very indirect connection. Some of them still sit in the State Duma and hold positions in executive bodies. Although in fairness it is worth noting that the manner of sculpting fake “heroes” has gone from meticulous to “sensational” media, which often do not bother to establish and convey the truth to people.

They say that on the occasion of the successful operation to occupy the airfield in Slatina by paratroopers, three gold medals were issued. Allegedly, they awarded them to politicians and important bosses. “The paratroopers don’t need gold,” the Union of Russian Paratroopers assured me.” “But all the soldiers and officers who took part in the events of 14 years ago must be recognized by the state.” But not everyone received even ordinary commemorative medals.

For veterans of those events, this is just a pleasant little thing, which, perhaps, is even remembered only once a year, when they wear awards at ceremonial events. It is not customary for paratroopers to flaunt awards. But if the command orders you to arrive with the orders, you should have seen this iconostasis! But still…

But this is only one side of the coin. The other side is that the brave, Russian-style, daring landing mission turned out to be completely unsupported on the political plane. Yes, the Russian peacekeeping contingent served regularly for several more years in Bosnia and Kosovo, embodying an example of the execution of a peacekeeping mission.

But facts are stubborn things - the Kosovo Serbs have lost their homeland. The few tens of thousands who remained in the region still write letters to the Kremlin asking to be granted Russian citizenship, because they were turned away in Belgrade. In Kosovo, dozens of Orthodox monasteries were looted, hundreds of churches were destroyed and burned. The majority of the population left those places. But Russia, with all its breadth and abundance of resources, could not resist this wave, could not become an obstacle to injustice and outright evil. Although, back at the end of 1999, the command of the Russian brigade stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina informed Moscow about a favorable moment for the creation of Russian military bases in the Balkans. This call was never heard, and history, as we know, does not tolerate the subjunctive mood...

Today, the reality is that the mental gap between Serbia and Russia is widening. The older generation, especially those people who remember the times of the USSR and the SFRY, communicated and worked together with peacekeepers from Russia, still feel an invisible connection with the Russian world, value it and are afraid to interrupt it. But the younger generation in Belgrade no longer knows the Russian language, far from the glorious and tragic pages of our common history. Young people, like those in Russian megacities, are infected with the same “disease of consumerism”, in which issues of spirit and identity do not matter at all.

Many Serbs, Serbia itself and the Republika Srpska of Bosnia and Herzegovina have already deployed to the West. In relations with Russia, the local elite sees primarily economic interest, that is, only business. Other spheres - cultural and spiritual, issues of a single faith are at best only declared and have faded into the background. The Serbs are learning to survive without Russia, although the decision to lay the South Stream gas pipeline through Serbian territories has been met with great enthusiasm and expectation of big changes for the better. As they joke here, “it would be better for the Russians to turn off the gas than for the Germans to let them in.”

Despite all the warmth and sincerity of the Serbian social activists and officials who met and communicated with the delegation of the Russian Airborne Forces, the President of the Republika Srpska Miodrag Dodik, who regularly holds operational meetings with representatives of Gazprom, never found time to communicate with the participants in the legendary push to Kosovo. Probably, priorities and preferences have changed...

“...Russia was systematically squeezed out of the Balkans. For different reasons. The many years of efforts of Russian peacekeepers have been in vain. The Balkans have reoriented toward a well-fed Europe and are flirting with the United States. In anticipation of the NATO aggression, the Serbs liked to repeat: “There are 200 million of us and Russia, we are brothers”... - this is the opinion of one of the paratroopers of the peacekeeping contingent. - We will never forget how the Serbs greeted us. This is how Europe, liberated from the Nazis, greeted Russians during World War II. This is never forgotten... I recently read a comment on the Internet: “We then rubbed NATO the wrong way. They were really scared, but as always, they betrayed us... They betrayed their own people. The military was betrayed, the Serbs... And that’s why they don’t respect us...” Realizing that there is some truth in this is offensive and bitter. But it's not our fault. We did everything we could. But it’s still a shame for the country, very much. Still..."

Uglevik – Banja Luka – Moscow

Leaflet targeting the Serbian and Albanian population of KOSOVO, prepared and distributed by unknown persons in April-May 1999: WANTED alive or embalmed BILLY CLINTON is a very dangerous criminal, a repeat offender, sexually preoccupied, although, in fact, quite helpless sexually respect, a man who betrayed the oath given to the Albanians to liberate Kosovo. Reward for capture: 45 million dollars in your pocket (or an F-117 Black Falcon aircraft in good condition and without a pilot). Please provide any information you have to the following address: Kosovo Liberation Army, NATO, Brussels, Greater Albania. Note: the leaflet is written in Serbo-Croatian, but using transcriptions that reproduce Albanian pronunciation

Residents of the capital of the Republika Srpska Banja Luka meet a delegation of Russian paratroopers with a banner

Reserve Colonel Sergei Pavlov is the commander of the battalion that marched to Kosovo and occupied the Slatina airfield. Now he is an associate professor at the Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School named after Army General V.F. Margelov

Reserve Colonel Hero of Russia Alexander Margelov talks with Russian volunteer who fought in the Balkans, Sergei Sukharev

The beret, vest and Order of Margelov were transferred to the legendary General Ratko Mladic, who is imprisoned in The Hague, to his son Darko

Zoltan Dani, commander of a Yugoslav air defense unit, tells how he shot down an F-117A Stealth aircraft in March 1999.

Russian paratroopers lay a wreath at the memorial at the site of the Jasenovac concentration camp, where Croatian Ustashes tortured about 700 thousand people during World War II

The delegation of the Union of Russian Paratroopers at a conference dedicated to the 14th anniversary of the march on Pristina, in the city of Ugljevik, Republika Srpska

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Paratroopers rush to Pristina

Yugoslavia. A formerly powerful country that split into many smaller states in 1999. It was divided not without the participation of US troops in particular and NATO troops in general. NATO ordered the withdrawal of Serbian troops from Albanian territory, to which they received a negative response. This largely served as the beginning of the bombing of the country. On June 12, 1999, the landing of the ground forces of NATO allies was planned for the invasion of Serbian territory. The invasion was planned through the territory of Macedonia, or rather, the Slatina airport, which is international, was to be used. The airport was located 15 km from the city of Pristina and was able to accommodate flights of various types of complexity.

Russia was initially against such a decision. By decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, the task was set to capture this airport. This operation was classified and did not benefit NATO in any way, which could lead to the 3rd World War. Therefore, it was necessary to carry out a rush of paratroopers to Pristina as soon as possible. The airborne force's march into Kosovo was unique.

The march of paratroopers to Pristina began on June 10. Before this, there was painstaking preparation for the operation. The deployment of NATO troops was planned for June 12, i.e. Russian paratroopers were supposed to capture the airport before this date. A group of 18 paratroopers secretly entered the territory of Kosovo, and then the airport. The surrounding Albanians and Serbs were not aware of how the operation was carried out, but it ended successfully. Only 18 paratroopers, under various pretexts, captured the Slatina international airport.

To the 15th of the now legendary forced march

How they did this is still unknown and classified. Russian paratroopers were quickly invisible in Kosovo, which led to success; all that remained was to wait for support. Already on June 10, an order was received to transfer airborne troops, numbering 200 people, from Bosnia to the airport. NATO troops did not know about this maneuver and thought that they had everything under control. The forward detachment, which included armored personnel carriers, vehicles and personnel, were prepared in the shortest possible time. The most interesting thing is that until the very last moment the personnel did not know where they would have to go.

On the night of June 11-12, the advance detachment of the Airborne Forces in an armored personnel carrier advanced to the border of Bosnia and Yugoslavia. They passed it without any problems. Russian flags were hung on the armored personnel carriers, and local residents happily greeted the airborne troops. This was especially clearly expressed when the troops entered the territory of Serbia.

The army was greeted as their saviors, whom they had been waiting for for a very long time. Tanks and combat vehicles were showered with flowers, and soldiers were given food and drink. Because of this, the movement of the column slowed down slightly. But soon the paratroopers found themselves in Pristina. Local residents poured out into the street and were very happy to see the Russians. Immediately after Pristina, the column stopped in a field. There they awaited clarification on further actions.

After a short stop, the column continued on its way and in the shortest possible time all the airport premises were under the control of the paratroopers. On the way to the airport, they met sleeping Serbs who, in small groups, dejectedly wandered home. The march of paratroopers to Pristina was completed successfully. The soldiers took up a perimeter defense, taking control of the entire airport. Block posts were organized for the arrival of the first NATO columns. At 7 am on June 12, 1989, the task of capturing the Slatina international airport was completed. The airborne forces in Pristina were ready for anything, not knowing what awaited them in the future.

Approach of a column of British troops

At approximately 11:00 the first reconnaissance plane flew over the airport and almost immediately columns of NATO troops approached the airport from both sides. These were British troops: there were Jeeps on one side and tanks on the other. The columns stopped in front of the Russian checkpoints. Several NATO helicopters tried to land at the airport, but armored personnel carriers prevented them from doing so.

General Michael Jackson ordered his troops to occupy the airport and the columns moved to the checkpoints, but the paratroopers were determined and showed this by putting out their weapons and taking aim at the British soldiers. The Russian troops were serious, so the NATO troops had to stop. The commander of NATO forces in Europe ordered to continue moving, not to stop, but General Jackson said that he was not going to start World War 3.

As a result, the airfield was surrounded by NATO troops. This is where the active actions ended. Further developments of events are presented differently in different sources. Some say that the soldiers of the Russian army were starving while they were surrounded and they were given water during the NATO wars, and also helped with provisions. Others say there was plenty of food and water as civilians helped, and there was a warehouse on the airport grounds that contained provisions. Problems with provisions arose due to the fact that Hungary did not allow a Russian plane to fly through its airspace to the airport. As a result, only 200 paratroopers were left 1 on 1 with the approaching NATO forces.

The first small victory of a renewing Russia

As a result, the main goal was achieved. The Slatina airport came under the full control of Russia and NATO troops could not use it for any purpose. Many other decisions were also made thanks to this operation. Russian airborne forces could now be in Kosovo legally. Soon, the airport again assumed international status and began to accept a variety of flights.

The paratroopers stayed in Pristina for a very long time and we can safely say that the operation went perfectly. The participants in this operation were awarded a specially established medal. Russian peacekeepers were stationed on the territory of Kosovo until 2003, and then were withdrawn from there, since their maintenance was very expensive for the Russian Federation. Based on the results of the entire stay of the peacekeepers in Kosovo and adjacent territories, we can safely say that they helped the fraternal people cope with the current situation, and the timely operation undoubtedly saved a single life.