What a surprise...

Armed Russian Volunteers Now In Kosovo To Fight NATOO 4-5-99

BELGRADE (Agence France Presse) A first group of Russian volunteers arrived Sunday in the northern Serbian town of Novi Sad to defend Yugoslavia, the official Tanjug news agency said. "The Russian volunteers are waiting to be posted to defend Yugoslavia against the shameless attacks by the bloody NATO aggressors," said Vlado Micunovic, chairman of the Yugoslav branch of the Russian-Yugoslav Fraternity Fund. It is not known how many Russians arrived in Novi Sad. Russian nationalists and former servicemen were reported to have started recruiting volunteers to fight in Yugoslavia a few days after the NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia began on March 24. Russia has bitterly opposed the NATO campaign, aimed at forcing Milosevic to halt an offensive against ethnic Albanians that has triggered a refugee exodus from Kosovo. But Kremlin deputy chief of staff Sergei Prikhodko was quoted Sunday as saying Moscow was opposed both to sending volunteers and to lifting the arms embargo on Yugoslavia. Prikhodko said: "We have on several occasions repeated our opposition to the intentions of certain politicians to launch a recruitment campaign for volunteers and to send arms." http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/01.html

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), April 07, 1999