Destroyed infrastructure — bridges, factories, hospitals

One of the most controversial dimensions of the NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999 was the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure. NATO claimed it was attacking exclusively „military targets,“ but the list of destroyed facilities tells a different story — destroyed were bridges that connected cities, factories that employed thousands of workers, hospitals where the sick were treated, schools where children studied, power plants that gave electricity to homes.

Bridges — severed connections

NATO destroyed or heavily damaged 78 bridges across Serbia. Among the most significant:

The bridges in Novi Sad: All three bridges over the Danube in Novi Sad were destroyed — the Žeželj Bridge, the Bridge of Freedom and the Varadin Bridge. The second-largest city in Serbia was left without a connection between the two parts of the city. The remains of the bridges fell into the Danube, blocking navigation on Europe's most important waterway. Rebuilding the bridges took more than a decade.

Bridges in Kosovo and southern Serbia: Dozens of bridges were destroyed on the roads that connected towns and villages, isolating communities and making it impossible to evacuate the wounded and to supply the civilian population.

Railway bridges: Several railway bridges were destroyed, including the bridge at the Grdelica Gorge where, on 12 April 1999, NATO hit a passenger train, killing at least 20 passengers.

Factories — workplaces turned to rubble

NATO bombed industrial facilities across Serbia, destroying factories that were the backbone of the country's economy:

• Zastava, Kragujevac: The automobile factory, which employed about 36,000 workers, was completely destroyed. For the whole city of Kragujevac, which depended on Zastava, this was economic devastation without precedent
• The Pančevo oil refinery: Completely destroyed, causing an ecological catastrophe
• The Novi Sad oil refinery: Heavily damaged by multiple strikes
• The Niš tobacco industry (DIN): The tobacco factory devastated
• The pharmaceutical industry: Several pharmaceutical plants hit
• The food industry: Mills, cold stores and food processing plants destroyed

Hospitals and health facilities

NATO damaged 29 hospitals and health facilities. Among the facilities hit were:

• The Niš Clinical Center — hit several times
• The hospital in Surdulica — hit on 27 May, 20 civilians killed in the surroundings
• Health centers in several towns in Kosovo
• Maternity wards damaged in the bombings of surrounding facilities

The damaging of hospitals in wartime conditions, when the need for medical care is multiplied, represents an especially cruel aspect of the bombing.

Schools and educational institutions

Sixty-nine schools and faculties were damaged or destroyed during the bombing. Eighteen kindergartens suffered damage. For months, children were without classes, taking shelter in basements and shelters instead of sitting at their desks.

Energy infrastructure

NATO especially targeted Serbia's energy system, using special graphite bombs (BLU-114/B) that short-circuited electrical power transformers. The consequences were:

• A complete collapse of the electrical power system on several occasions — millions of people left without electricity for days
• Hydroelectric and thermal power plants destroyed or heavily damaged
• Transformer stations destroyed across the country
• Without electricity, water systems, hospitals, cold stores and bakeries did not function

Telecommunications and media

NATO systematically destroyed communication centers and transmitters. Especially controversial was the bombing of the building of Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) in Belgrade on 23 April 1999, in which 16 employees were killed — journalists, technicians, make-up artists — who were working the night shift. This was a unique case in modern warfare of a public media building being directly attacked.

Water supply and sewerage

By destroying power plants and pumping stations, NATO effectively destroyed the water supply systems in several cities. Millions of people were left without drinking water in periods when the electrical power system was out of operation. In some cities, citizens were forced to use water from wells and rivers — which was contaminated with petroleum products and industrial waste from the destroyed factories.

Damage without end

The reconstruction of the infrastructure destroyed by the NATO bombing lasted for years and decades. Some facilities were never rebuilt. The bridges in Novi Sad were built over years. The Zastava factory never reached its pre-war capacity. Many destroyed schools and hospitals waited years for repair in an impoverished country under sanctions.

NATO claimed it was attacking „military infrastructure.“ But bridges are not an army. Factories are not an army. Hospitals are not an army. Schools are not an army. Power plants are not an army. Water systems are not an army. All of that is life — everyday, ordinary, civilian life that NATO systematically destroyed over 78 days.

Every destroyed bridge is a severed connection between people. Every devastated factory is a thousand families without income. Every damaged hospital is a patient without treatment. Every demolished school is a child without a future. Infrastructure is not concrete and steel — infrastructure is the tissue of civilization. And NATO tore it apart. Lest we forget.