Knin and Sveti Đurađ Mark 31st Anniversary of Operation Storm
Photo monograph '1995.' bears witness to the victorious operation, while tribute was paid to fallen defenders in Sveti Đurađ.
Photo monograph '1995.' bears witness to the victorious operation, while tribute was paid to fallen defenders in Sveti Đurađ.
On Tuesday, August 4, 2026, the 31st anniversary of the military-police operation Storm, Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day, and Croatian Defenders Day was marked throughout Croatia. The central events were held in Knin, where the photo monograph '1995.' was presented, and in the Virovitica suburb of Sveti Đurađ, where tribute was paid to fallen fellow villagers.
In Knin, the photo monograph '1995.' was presented, the third book in a trilogy by author Zoran Filipović about the Homeland War. Following the editions '1991.' and '1993.', this book features more than a hundred photographs credited to 26 Croatian war photojournalists. The co-author of the edition is Matko Biljak.
Minister of Croatian Veterans Tomo Medved highlighted the symbolism of the photographs. "In the faces of victorious Croatian defenders, we recognize optimism," said Minister Medved. He particularly emphasized that the book also contains a list of 183 fallen Croatian defenders and two missing persons from Operation Storm.
Minister Medved also reflected on the circumstances that led to the operation, mentioning the order of President Franjo Tuđman. "Despite all attempts at peaceful resolution and the return of the then-occupied territories to the constitutional-legal order of the Republic of Croatia, there was a lack of accountability from those who started the Greater Serbian aggression and committed terrible evils against the Croatian people in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina," Medved said.
He dismissed theses suggesting a different historical sequence. "The Homeland War began with Greater Serbian aggression, and Storm brought peace," he stated. His message was unequivocal: "Never, nor do we have any reason, nor will we apologize to anyone for our victory in the Homeland War."
Author Zoran Filipović described Storm as the greatest military undertaking in the history of the Croatian people. "On approximately 700 kilometers of front line, 200,000 soldiers participated in Storm, which was designed to be victorious," Filipović said. The book also publishes a historical document, the call of Milan Martić, president of the so-called SAO Krajina, dated August 4, 1995, urging Serbs to leave the area.
"The Serbs were not expelled by weapons in Storm, but were expelled by their own," Filipović emphasized. Co-author Matko Biljak added that the edition is the result of dedicated work: "This book is the fruit of hard work and a passion for truth."
On the same day, in the Virovitica suburb of Sveti Đurađ, in front of the memorial to fallen fellow villagers in the Homeland War, tribute was paid by laying floral arrangements and lighting lanterns. A joint delegation was led by the president of the local committee, Ivan Ćavarušić, and the president of the Pensioners' Association of the Sveti Đurađ local committee, Nada Barčanac, and they were joined by representatives of the UDVDR Sveti Đurađ Club and members of the Sveti Đurađ Football Club.
The memorial, located in front of the community center, was once again a place of quiet reverence for all those who gave their lives for the freedom of Croatia.
