site.btaCroatia Marks 31st Anniversary of Operation Storm

Croatia marked on Wednesday Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, Croatian Veterans Day and the 31st anniversary of Operation Storm, the last major military offensive in the Croatian War of Independence. The central commemoration took place in Knin and was attended by the country's top state officials, including President Zoran Milanovic, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, cabinet ministers, members of parliament, the Speaker of the House of Peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Covic, as well as members of the diplomatic corps and military attachés accredited to Croatia.

Knin was recaptured during Operation Storm on August 5, 1995.

The ceremony was broadcast live by Croatian public broadcaster HRT. The Croatian national flag was raised at Knin Fortress, while 245 cadets of the Croatian Armed Forces and students of the Police Academy stood in formation in tribute to those killed or reported missing during the operation.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic and President Zoran Milanovic addressed the gathering. The official programme included demonstrations of the capabilities of the Croatian Armed Forces and police, as well as ceremonial flypasts by the Croatian Air Force.

Operation Storm began on August 4 and lasted until August 7, 1995. Nearly 200,000 members of the Croatian Armed Forces and police took part in the operation, recapturing 10,400 square kilometres of occupied territory - equivalent to 18.4 per cent of Croatia's total land area - in just 85 hours.

A total of 243 Croatian service members were killed during the operation, 1,430 were wounded, and two remain listed as missing. According to the latest data published in 2025 by the Croatian non-governmental organization Documenta, Operation Storm and five other military operations resulted in the displacement of about 220,000 Serbs from their homes. The same data show that 1,170 civilians were killed, including 1,055 Serbs, 60 Croats, while an additional 918 soldiers and 228 people of mixed status also lost their lives.