Miladinovic: The Battle of Pastrik had strategic importance for the outcome of the 1999 war

Former president of the Assembly of the Club of Generals and Admirals of Serbia, Milomir Miladinovic, stated that the Battle of Pastrik had strategic importance for the outcome of the 1999 war, and that the fighters who took part in it proved themselves worthy successors of the ancestors from Mackov Kamen or Kadinjaca.

“Because of the forces involved and the area where it was fought, this battle had strategic significance. The fighters from Pastrik showed that they are worthy heirs of our ancestors from Mackov Kamen or Kadinjaca,” Miladinovic told Kosovo Online.

He added that this battle differed from all previous ones due to the fact that the enemy had massive air support.

“Strategic bomber aviation was involved, and this over an area of only a few kilometers,” Miladinovic specified.

Commenting on the 26th anniversary of the start of the fighting on Pastrik, which lasted until June 16, when the Military-Technical Agreement was signed in Kumanovo, ending the war, Miladinovic said that, like the Battle of Kosare, it brought strategic results for the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

“The outcome of the Battle of Pastrik, just like the Battle of Kosare, had strategic results, because it was concluded that further aggression against our country would also have consequences for the aggressor. That is why the aggressor proposed a peace agreement, which we negotiated in Kumanovo. So, those were negotiations, not the signing of a capitulation,” Miladinovic emphasized.

For this reason, he said, the fighters from Pastrik deserve much more recognition than they have received so far.

“And not just from the perspective of tactics, specifically, what took place on the battlefield, but also from the standpoint of patriotism, heroism, and the psychology of the individuals involved. These were superhuman efforts that had to be endured, ultimately leading to the outcome of the war, an aggression which, fortunately, did not end in defeat, but in negotiations,” Miladinovic said.