Documented testimonies of events that shape our memory
283 documented events in the archiveThe main reinforcement of the defence of Košare came from the 125th Mechanized Brigade of the Priština Corps. Under the command of General Dragan Živanović, this unit stabilised the front and took on the greatest burden of the prolonged battle.
Read articleMikis Theodorakis, the legendary Greek composer known for the music for the film „Zorba the Greek", was one of the most vocal opponents of the NATO bombing of Serbia. He organised concerts of solidarity and personally visited Belgrade during the war.
Read articleAt the Košare border outpost in Metohija near Đakovica, from 9 April to June 1999, the Yugoslav Army fought one of the hardest battles of its defensive war. Facing a superior enemy backed by NATO air power, the Serbian army paid a price of 108 dead — but never surrendered the border into Metohija.
Read articleAt dawn on Orthodox Good Friday, 9 April 1999, the enemy opened artillery fire on the Košare outpost and launched an infantry assault from three directions. On the first day of the battle, a handful of young border guards faced fifteen hundred attackers.
Read articleThe Košare outpost was guarded by the 2nd Border Company of the 53rd Border Battalion of the Priština Corps — a little over a hundred soldiers, mostly young men serving their term. They took the first blow on 9 April 1999 and, with their sacrifice, bought the time for reinforcements to arrive.
Read articleAs commander of the Priština Corps of the Yugoslav Army, Major General Vladimir Lazarević led the defence of Kosovo and Metohija during the NATO aggression of 1999. Under his command were also the units that defended Košare.
Read articleWhen the attack on Košare began on 9 April 1999, Major Dragutin Dimčevski, deputy commander of the 53rd Border Battalion, took direct command of the outpost's defence. With around one hundred and thirty soldiers he organised the resistance in the most critical first hours of the battle.
Read articleA memorial to civilians who were killed in a NATO strike on a refugee convoy.
Read articleNATO bombs the bridge over the Južna Morava near Gračanica. 11 civilians killed, including 5 children, in a bus that was on the bridge.
Read articleNATO bombs Kruševac. Missiles strike a military barracks but also the surrounding residential buildings. 6 civilians were killed.
Read articleThe Austrian writer Peter Handke, later winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, was one of the few Western intellectuals who openly stood by the Serbian people during the NATO bombing of 1999. His travels across Serbia and his public statements cost him friendships and his career.
Read articleDuring the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, the Greek people organised mass protests, blocked NATO convoys in Thessaloniki and sent humanitarian aid. Over 95% of Greeks were against the bombing — a unique case within the NATO alliance.
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