in Belgrade: the Ministry of Defence
On 24 March 1999 the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commenced air strikes against Yugoslavia with the bombing of Serbian military positions in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. The NATO offensive came in response to a new wave of ethnic cleansing launched by Serbian forces against the Kosovar Albanians on March 20.
During the following weeks NATO also bombed some estrategic buildings in the capital of Serbia. One of the damaged buildings by the bombing was the Ministry of Defence in Belgrade.
The building was built between 1957 and 1965 and was designed to resemble a canyon of the Sutjeska river, where one of the most significant battles of WWII in Yugoslavia was fought, with the street as a river dividing the two sides. The building was severely damaged by bombing on 30 April 1999. Although the building could have been repaired, it was chosen not to, and instead preserved as cultural heritage and monument to the Kosovo war. Today, it is Belgrade’s most famous ruin and a popular tourist attraction.
These photos were taken in August 2017.
