The Russian march on Pristina — the seizure of Slatina airport

In the early morning hours of 12 June 1999, two days after the official cessation of the NATO bombing, a column of about 200 Russian soldiers set out from Bosnia and Herzegovina on an epic 500-kilometre march towards Slatina airport near Pristina. This was one of the most dramatic military moves in Europe since the end of the Cold War — and it came within a hair's breadth of escalating into an armed conflict between NATO and Russia.

Background — Russia and Kosovo

Throughout the entire duration of the NATO bombing, Russia was the most vocal opponent of the intervention on the international stage. Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov sharply condemned the bombing, but at that moment Russia did not have the military power to directly oppose NATO.

However, the Russian military top — in particular General Leonid Ivashov, head of the Directorate for International Military Cooperation — believed that Russia had to have a role in Kosovo after the cessation of the bombing. The plan was for Russian forces to seize Slatina airport before the arrival of NATO, whereby Russia would secure a negotiating position in post-conflict Kosovo.

A 500-kilometre march

The Russian column set out from a base in Ugljevik in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Russian soldiers were deployed as part of the SFOR peacekeeping forces. The column moved through Serbia towards Kosovo at a speed that surprised everyone — they covered 500 kilometres in less than 8 hours.

The Serbian population along the way greeted the Russian soldiers with delight. People came out onto the roads, waved Russian flags, offered food and water. For the Serbs who had just survived 78 days of bombing, the arrival of the Russian soldiers was a long-awaited sign that Russia had not forgotten its ally.

The seizure of Slatina airport

The Russians arrived at Slatina airport on the morning of 12 June, several hours before the first British units of KFOR marched into Pristina. They seized the runway, set up checkpoints and raised the Russian flag. When the British soldiers arrived, they found the airport — the only usable air harbour in Kosovo — in the hands of the Russians.

A crisis on the edge of war

The situation was extremely dangerous. The Supreme Commander of NATO forces in Europe, American General Wesley Clark, ordered the British General Michael Jackson to take the airport from the Russians by force. General Jackson refused, reportedly declaring: „I am not going to start the Third World War for you."

This episode — when a British general refused an order from an American general to attack Russian soldiers — remained one of the most dramatic in the history of NATO. The world was on the edge of an armed conflict between two nuclear powers over an airport in Kosovo.

A diplomatic solution

The crisis was ultimately resolved by diplomatic means. Russia and NATO agreed that the Russian soldiers would remain at Slatina airport as part of the international KFOR forces, but under Russian command. Russia thereby secured a military presence in Kosovo, but did not obtain the separate sector it had sought.

Significance for Serbia

For the Serbian people, the Russian march on Pristina was a moment of hope in a sea of despair. After 78 days in which it seemed that the whole world was against Serbia, Russian soldiers rushed 500 kilometres to show that Russia stood by the Serbs. Images of Russian armoured vehicles with Serbian flags travelled the world and became symbols of Russian-Serbian brotherhood.

It was the last act of a drama that had lasted 78 days — and one of the rare acts that brought a smile to the faces of the Serbs. The Russian soldiers at Slatina airport were living proof that Serbia was not alone in the world. Lest it be forgotten.