The NATO bombing of former Yugoslavia began on 24 March 1999. 24 years ago, NATO's planes took off to drop bombs on the Balkan country. The attack was not approved by the UN Security Council. The current Russian ambassador in Belgrade says the West would cover up the human health effects of the depleted uranium bombs used at the time. Aleksandr Bocan Harcenko stressed that the British giving Kyiv similar ammunition only proves that supporting Ukraine is nothing but lies and hypocrisy.

The number of victims was never revealed

Prior to the 1999 attack, there were several negotiations between Belgrade and the international community to resolve the Kosovo crisis, which ultimately proved unsuccessful. Military and civilian installations and even bridges were among the targets of the 78 days of NATO air strikes. At first, 70 fighter planes were launched against Yugoslavia, and later on 400 planes took off every day. The attack was decided without the approval of the UN Security Council. It is 24 years since the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, yet there is no accurate figure for the number of deaths from the air strikes.

As V4NA reported earlier, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s aim was to force Yugoslav government troops to withdraw from Kosovo in order to avoid a humanitarian disaster in the region, where they claimed that Serbs had carried out ethnic cleansing against the Albanians. The air strikes ended after Belgrade withdrew its troops from Kosovo. Serbian forces have not returned since then, although Serbia does not recognise Pristina’s independence.

Bombs have brought cancer and death

There are thousands of Serbian residents who claim to have got cancer from NATO bombs, and they would sue the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Lawyer Srdan Aleksic, who represents several of them, said that a number of petitions have already been submitted to the High Court in Belgrade, demanding compensation. NATO should pay them between 100,000 and 300,000 euros per person.

„NATO has been sued by citizens suffering from cancer and by the families of those who died from the effects of depleted uranium used during the bombardments. These people were directly exposed to the depleted uranium used in 1999, during NATO’s bombing of Serbia.”

Mr Aleksic said.

The lawyer also recalled that Serbia signed an agreement with NATO in 2005, which only allows the allied forces to pass through the territory of the Balkan country. However, they must compensate for the damage they caused, he underlined. And that contract can in no way be valid retroactively. It especially cannot apply to 1999, nor can it serve as a basis for war crimes and crimes against humanity, Srdan Aleksic told RTRS earlier.

„NATO has admitted that it used 15 tons of depleted uranium in Kosovo, as well as two tons of depleted uranium in southern Serbia in the towns of Vranje, Bujanovac, and Presevo. I also come from a small village that was bombed with depleted uranium, so many of my relatives died, several people became ill, even my mother died of cancer. Even as a lawyer with 30 years of experience, it was a big challenge for me to launch this legal case,”

Mr Aleksic said, adding, around 4000 people have approached him with claims as a result of the bombings.

Ambassador: Number of oncological cases increased due to depleted uranium

Meanwhile, the West would like to cover up the issue of radioactive radiation and its impact on human health – this was said by Aleksandr Bocan-Harcenko. According to Russia’s current ambassador to Serbia, Moscow actively cooperated with Belgrade to highlight the consequences of using depleted uranium.

In an interview with Zvezda Television, the diplomat added that they also helped Serbia in revealing to the public the impact of the bombing, which the West would rather keep under wraps. At the same time, as he said, the Serbs have no doubts about the harmful consequences of the radioactive munitions dropped on them and their country.

„There are very specific sets of data and multiple research studies have also been carried out. A quarter of a century has passed since NATO’s aggression,” the ambassador said, adding that it would be difficult to find more convincing pieces of evidence than those collected by the Serbs, which details the consequences of using depleted uranium.

He pointed out that the number of oncology patients living in places bombed with this dangerous ammunition has skyrocketed. All tests indicate that the cause of their illness is exposure to high radioactivity, concludes Aleksandr Bocan-Harcenko.

Планови британске стране још једном потврђују да колективни Запад у ствари не мари за Украјину и Украјинце, а сва уверавања о „подршци“ нису ништа друго него лаж и лицемерје.

— Александр Боцан-Харченко (@ABocanHarcenko) March 22, 2023

The diplomat also commented that, judging by the statement of the British Deputy Defense Minister, London is preparing to deliver similar ammunition to Kyiv. Bocan-Harcenko added that, in his opinion, this shows that the British do not care about the Ukrainians.

In his Twitter post, the ambassador added:

The plans of the British once again confirm that the collective West does not really care about Ukraine and the Ukrainians, and that all assurances of support are nothing but lies and hypocrisy.