Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has described this exercise as the most important one Serbia has held so far, saying that the newest weaponry of the Serbian army will also be presented there.

Regarding this development, the executive director of the Kosovar Center for Security, Mentor Vrajolli, told KosovaPress that he does not assess there to be any direct risk to Kosovo from the exercise that will be held on June 28 at “Pasuljanske Livade.”

However, according to him, the concern lies in the symbolism of this date, which, he says, conveys a different political message and shows that Serbia still maintains as a medium- or long-term ambition a conflict in Kosovo.

Vrajolli: Serbia’s military exercise for “Vidovdan” is a medium-term ambition for conflict in Kosovo

“I do not see any direct risk on the date in question, but I do see risk in the symbolism, which reflects a different political message that Serbia still continues to hold as a medium- or long-term ambition a direct conflict in Kosovo or direct aggression against Kosovo, which makes Kosovo’s medium- or long-term future worrying and in a way legitimizes Kosovo’s need to build a stable defense sector. Perhaps what applies in the short term is that Serbia has already received some very clear messages from the EU and NATO that the attack in Banjska is their responsibility and that they must hand over the people who were involved, and I do not see this date evolving into a direct threat, but we should focus more on the symbolic aspect,” Vrajolli said.

Vrajolli also stressed that the international community should send clear signals to Serbia and make it known that any possible escalation in Kosovo would bring direct consequences for it.

Vrajolli: If KFOR withdraws, the threat to Kosovo is extremely real

“I think this is perhaps beyond the limits of what the international community can influence in this direction. However, this is another sign of why Kosovo’s defense sector should be supported by allied states, and perhaps NATO membership should also be prioritized in order to prevent any threatening situation that this exercise may present. I do not believe there can be a direct threat today, since Kosovo continues to be a consolidated NATO mission and pressure on Serbia is currently high also because of the incident in Banjska, but in the medium or especially long term, if part or all of the KFOR contingent withdraws, the threat is extremely real, and this makes it clear to Kosovo’s citizens that the defense sector must be prioritized,” he told KosovaPress.

Former Kosovo Security Force colonel Afrim Veseli also spoke to KosovaPress about this issue, saying that this Serbian military exercise causes concern, as it could serve as an opportunity for possible aggression.

Former KSF colonel: I fear the Serbian military exercise for “Vidovdan”; it is an opportunity for possible aggression

“As for the military exercise on June 28, those who have Vidovdan, we who are older know the Vidovdan of ’89 when Milošević came to Pristina. I personally saw it. I believe a very serious analysis by the security sector will be needed, along with contacts with international partners, because I fear this military exercise. All those units that, as I understand, they will engage in that exercise, it is a case, a possibility for possible aggression. But what is needed is a more detailed analysis,” Veseli said.

According to Veseli, Vučić will use every means to shift attention away from the instability his government is experiencing, while warning that this situation poses a serious risk to Kosovo.

Veseli: Kosovo and NATO must prepare

“It is not only this. This is just a pretext, a date. But there are also many factors, such as Serbia’s situation — what is it? The shaking of Vučić’s power and his criminal apparatus. He will do anything to draw attention somewhere else. So we are exposed to this danger, and I believe that our security organizations, Kosovo as a whole, and NATO, must prepare because I consider it to be a very great danger,” Veseli told KosovaPress.

On the other hand, the Battle of Kosovo has over the years been used by the Serbian Church and Serbian politics as a symbolic and political instrument.

The date of June 28 is linked to the Battle of Kosovo, in which the coalition of armies of the peoples of the Balkans was defeated by the Ottoman Empire. After this defeat, the peoples of the Balkans either fell under Ottoman occupation or were forced to become vassals of the sultan. Albanian princes continued the resistance, the most prominent among them being Skanderbeg. Serbia became part of the Ottoman Empire.

The Battle of Kosovo took place on June 28 (June 15 according to the old calendar), 1389 in the Kosovo Field, between the coalition of armies of the peoples of the Balkans, led by Prince Lazar, and the Ottoman forces led by Sultan Murad I (reigned 1360–89). The clash was fierce and both leaders, Prince Lazar and Sultan Murad, as well as many other princes, were killed there. Both armies were almost completely wiped out.

However, the Ottoman Empire had sufficient resources to create a new army in a shorter time. The peoples of the Balkans were unable to recover quickly, and most of them eventually fell under Ottoman rule.

There is not much data on the Battle of Kosovo, and even a large part of it contradicts one another.

For this reason, today this event is known more for the myths surrounding it than for the historical facts.

Under the rule of Sultan Murad I, the Ottomans expanded their control from Anatolia toward the Balkans. In the summer of 1389, Sultan Murad arrived in Kosovo, where he faced the coalition of princes.

Although the battle is often portrayed as a confrontation between Serbs and Turks, or between Christians and Muslims, the facts show the opposite.

On one side stood the Ottomans, in whose army there were also soldiers from their vassal peoples and princes, including Christians.

On the other side was a coalition of princes of the peoples of the Balkans, which also included many Albanian princes.

It is known that Prince Lazar was killed in this battle, but the circumstances of his killing are not known. Another Serbian prince, Vuk Branković, when he saw that the battle could not be won and that as many soldiers as possible had to be saved, withdrew. In Serbian accounts, he is described as a traitor and his withdrawal as the cause of Prince Lazar’s death.

Sultan Murad I was also killed in this battle, and it is believed that he was killed by Miloš Obilić, one of the main figures in the stories and legends about the Battle of Kosovo.

Last year, “Vidovdan” was celebrated in Gazimestan by Kosovo Serb citizens, as well as people who came from Serbia, while religious leaders dedicated hymns and songs to Saint Vitus and the martyrs of the battle.

The event passed without major incidents, with the exception of two participants being escorted to the police for identification and another case in which a Serbian politician was removed from the area where the activity was taking place after he failed to obey the orders of the Kosovo Police.

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